A fundamental understanding of attachment of surface-coated nanoparticles (NPs) is essential to predict the distribution and potential risks of NPs in the environment. Column deposition studies were used to examine the effect of surface-coating hydrophobicity on NP attachment to collector surfaces in mixtures with varying ratios of octadecylichlorosilane (OTS)-coated (hydrophobic) glass beads a...

We study by molecular dynamics simulations the wetting/dewetting transition and the dependence of the free energy on distance between plates that contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic particles. We show that dewetting and strength of hydrophobic interaction is very sensitive to the distribution of hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains. In particular, we find that plates characterized by a larg...

The equilibria of linoleic acid (LA)-cyclodextrin (CD) complexes were studied to investigate the behaviour of 'soluble lipids' in solution as a function of factors that typically affect biochemical processes, such as pH, temperature and CD structure. The above complexes are formed with a stoicheiometry of 1:2 in solution. The first CD molecule interacts with LA through hydrogen bonds when the p...

Accumulation at the air-water interface of four bacterial strains with different hydrophobicities was studied. To exclude system influences, both a static batch system and a dynamic system involving rising bubbles were used. All bacteria accumulated at the air-water interface in both systems. Generally, attachment to the air-water interface increased with bacterial surface hydrophobicity. Accum...

We created a homology model of the homo-tetrameric pore domain of HERG using the crystal structure of the bacterial potassium channel, KvAP, as a template. We docked a set of known blockers with well-characterized effects on channel function into the lumen of the pore between the selectivity filter and extracellular entrance using a novel docking and refinement procedure incorporating Glide and...

Hydrophobic interactions between proteins and amphiphilic polyelectrolytes were studied by frontal analysis continuous capillary electrophoresis (Gao et al., Analytical Chemistry, 1997, Vol. 69, pp. 2945-2951). Binding isotherms were obtained for beta-lactoglobulin and for bovine serum albumin interacting with a series of alternating copolymers of maleic acid and alkyl-vinyl ethers of varying h...

While biotechnological applications of arginine (Arg) as a solution additive that prevents protein aggregation are increasing, the molecular mechanism of its effects remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the Arg-lysozyme complex by high-resolution crystallographic analysis. Three Arg molecules were observed to be in close proximity to aromatic amino acid residues of the protein surfac...

The initial events in protein aggregation involve fluctuations that populate monomer conformations, which lead to oligomerization and fibril assembly. The highly populated structures, driven by a balance between hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions in the protease-resistant wild-type Abeta(21-30) peptide and mutants E22Q (Dutch), D23N (Iowa), and K28N, are analyzed using molecular dynamic...

A new class of platinum(II) terpyridine complexes with a phosphole-derived bridging alkynyl ligand have been prepared. The X-ray crystal structure of complex 2 has been determined, and reveals a polymeric zig-zag chain structure with the existence of p–p stacking interactions. The photophysical properties have also been studied, with MLCT/LLCT phosphorescence exhibited in degassed CH2Cl2; the e...

A new class of platinum(ii) terpyridine complexes with a phosphole-derived bridging alkynyl ligand have been prepared. The X-ray crystal structure of complex 2 has been determined, and reveals a polymeric zig-zag chain structure with the existence of π-π stacking interactions. The photophysical properties have also been studied, with 3MLCT/3LLCT phosphorescence exhibited in degassed CH2Cl2; the...