We present a theory that is able to account quantitatively for the surface and interfacial tensions of different electrolyte solutions. It is found that near the interface, ions can be separated into two classes: the kosmotropes and the chaotropes. While the kosmotropes remain hydrated near the interface and are repelled from it, the chaotropes loose their hydration sheath and become adsorbed t...

We present a new experimental system to observe reactions in biomembranes by combining laser spectroscopic techniques with phospholipid monolayers formed at oil/water interfaces. The system can monitor reactions through changes in interfacial tension at oil/water interfaces induced by the reactions under non-destructive and non-contact conditions. In addition, oil/water interfaces with defined ...

Several Pseudomonas sp. CR611 Lip I.3 mutants with overall increased activity and a shift towards longer chain substrates were constructed. Substitution of residues Y29 and W310 by smaller amino acids provided increased activity on C18-substrates. Residues G152 and S154, modified to study their influence on interfacial activation, displayed a five and eleven fold increased activity.

Pancreatic lipase requires colipase, a protein cofactor, to counteract the in vitro inhibition by bile salt. Lipase activity is inhibited by nonsteroidic detergents regardless of their charge and structure. Detergent-inhibited lipase is reactivated by colipase but in all cases activation is limited to a narrow range of detergent concentration. Complementary studies on the bile salt and detergen...

The interaction between two spheres in a solution of nonadsorbing polymers, with excluded volume interaction, is calculated from the depletion layers around the spheres using the generalized Gibbs adsorption equation. By combining the bulk correlation length with the curvature-dependent interfacial tension between a sphere and the surrounding polymer solution [Hanke, Eisenriegler, and Dietrich,...

In this paper we analyze the effects of the following phenomena associated with the thermocapillary migration of a drop. The first is the influence of Newtonian surface rheology of the interface and the second is that of the energy changes associated with stretching and shrinkage of the interfacial area elements, when the drop is in motion. The former occurs because of dissipative processes in ...

Interfacial enzymes present additional challenges in their study compared to enzymes with soluble substrates. Cholesterol oxidase is an interfacial enzyme that transiently associates with lipid membranes to convert cholesterol to cholest-4-en-3-one. As a case study to exemplify the issues that should be considered, we describe our structural and mechanistic understanding of cholesterol oxidase ...

We have synthesised a new, pyrene-based, low-molecular-mass, amphiphilic molecule that displays a wealth of properties of potential interest for aggregation and interfacial applications. In order to elucidate some of the key properties of this molecule, which consists of a pyrene-containing hydrophobic head and a short PEG-based hydrophilic tail, we investigate herein some aspects of its concen...