scholarly journals Exceptionally stable, redox-active supramolecular protein assemblies with emergent properties

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (8) ◽  
pp. 2897-2902 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Brodin ◽  
J. R. Carr ◽  
P. A. Sontz ◽  
F. A. Tezcan
Keyword(s):  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Protein Assemblies ◽  
Redox Active

scholarly journals Quantifying microbial chatter: scanning electrochemical microscopy as a tool to study interactions in biofilms

2018 ◽  
Vol 474 (2220) ◽  
pp. 20180405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie E. Darch ◽  
Dipankar Koley
Keyword(s):  
Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Spatial Structures ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Redox Active ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Microbe Interactions ◽  
By Products ◽  
Electrochemical Microscopy ◽  
Chemical Mediators

Bacteria are often found in their natural habitats as spatially organized biofilm communities. While it is clear from recent work that the ability to organize into precise spatial structures is important for fitness of microbial communities, a significant gap exists in our understanding regarding the mechanisms bacteria use to adopt such physical distributions. Bacteria are highly social organisms that interact, and it is these interactions that have been proposed to be critical for establishing spatially structured communities. A primary means by which bacteria interact is via small, diffusible molecules including dedicated signals and metabolic by-products; however, quantitatively monitoring the production of these molecules in time and space with the micron-scale resolution required has been challenging. In this perspective, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is discussed as a powerful tool to study microbe–microbe interactions through the detection of small redox-active molecules. We highlight SECM as a means to quantify and spatially resolve the chemical mediators of bacterial interactions and begin to elucidate the mechanisms used by bacteria to regulate the emergent properties of biofilms.

scholarly journals Thermodynamic and electrochemical study of tailor-made crown ethers for redox-switchable (pseudo)rotaxanes

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 2576-2588
Author(s):  
Henrik Hupatz ◽  
Marius Gaedke ◽  
Hendrik V Schröder ◽  
Julia Beerhues ◽  
Arto Valkonen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crown Ethers ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Binding Energies ◽  
Titration Calorimetry ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Naphthalene Diimide ◽  
Redox Active ◽  
Voltammetric Techniques ◽  
Redox Switching ◽  
Redox Switches

Crown ethers are common building blocks in supramolecular chemistry and are frequently applied as cation sensors or as subunits in synthetic molecular machines. Developing switchable and specifically designed crown ethers enables the implementation of function into molecular assemblies. Seven tailor-made redox-active crown ethers incorporating tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) or naphthalene diimide (NDI) as redox-switchable building blocks are described with regard to their potential to form redox-switchable rotaxanes. A combination of isothermal titration calorimetry and voltammetric techniques reveals correlations between the binding energies and redox-switching properties of the corresponding pseudorotaxanes with secondary ammonium ions. For two different weakly coordinating anions, a surprising relation between the enthalpic and entropic binding contributions of the pseudorotaxanes was discovered. These findings were applied to the synthesis of an NDI-[2]rotaxane, which retains similar spectroelectrochemical properties compared to the corresponding free macrocycle. The detailed understanding of the thermodynamic and electrochemical properties of the tailor-made crown ethers lays the foundation for the construction of new types of molecular redox switches with emergent properties.

scholarly journals A stochastic pooling motif mediates information transfer from receptor assemblies into NF-κB

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Agustin Cruz ◽  
Chaitanya S. Mokashi ◽  
Gabriel J. Kowalczyk ◽  
Yue Guo ◽  
Qiuhong Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Transfer ◽  
Feedback Regulation ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Protein Assemblies ◽  
Receptor Associated Protein ◽  
Cell Responses ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Size Number ◽  
Specific Regulation ◽  
Stochastic Pooling

A myriad of inflammatory cytokines regulate signaling pathways to maintain cellular homeostasis. The IKK complex is an integration hub for cytokines that govern NF-κB signaling. In response to inflammation, IKK is activated through recruitment to receptor-associated protein assemblies. How and what information IKK complexes transmit about the milieu are open questions. Here we track dynamics of IKK complexes and nuclear NF-κB to identify upstream signaling features that determine same-cell responses. Experiments and modeling of single complexes reveal their size, number, and timing relays cytokine-specific control over shared signaling mechanisms with feedback regulation that is independent of transcription. Our results provide evidence for variable gain stochastic pooling, a noise-reducing motif that enables cytokine-specific regulation and parsimonious information transfer. We propose that emergent properties of stochastic pooling are general principles of receptor signaling that have evolved for constructive information transmission in noisy molecular environments.

Formation of paired helical filaments in Alzheimer's disease

1984 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 302-303
Author(s):  
J. Metuzals ◽  
D. F. Clapin ◽  
V. Montpetit
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Giant Axon ◽  
Paired Helical Filaments ◽  
Normal Brain ◽  
Protein Assemblies ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Helical Symmetry ◽  
Structural Levels

Information on the conformation of paired helical filaments (PHF) and the neurofilamentous (NF) network is essential for an understanding of the mechanisms involved in the formation of the primary lesions of Alzheimer's disease (AD): tangles and plaques. The structural and chemical relationships between the NF and the PHF have to be clarified in order to discover the etiological factors of this disease. We are investigating by stereo electron microscopic and biochemical techniques frontal lobe biopsies from patients with AD and squid giant axon preparations. The helical nature of the lesion in AD is related to pathological alterations of basic properties of the nervous system due to the helical symmetry that exists at all hierarchic structural levels in the normal brain. Because of this helical symmetry of NF protein assemblies and PHF, the employment of structure reconstruction techniques to determine the conformation, particularly the handedness of these structures, is most promising. Figs. 1-3 are frontal lobe biopsies.

Common modifications of selenocysteine in selenoproteins

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elias S.J. Arnér
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Covalent Binding ◽  
Physicochemical Characteristics ◽  
Redox Active

Abstract Selenocysteine (Sec), the sulfur-to-selenium substituted variant of cysteine (Cys), is the defining entity of selenoproteins. These are naturally expressed in many diverse organisms and constitute a unique class of proteins. As a result of the physicochemical characteristics of selenium when compared with sulfur, Sec is typically more reactive than Cys while participating in similar reactions, and there are also some qualitative differences in the reactivities between the two amino acids. This minireview discusses the types of modifications of Sec in selenoproteins that have thus far been experimentally validated. These modifications include direct covalent binding through the Se atom of Sec to other chalcogen atoms (S, O and Se) as present in redox active molecular motifs, derivatization of Sec via the direct covalent binding to non-chalcogen elements (Ni, Mb, N, Au and C), and the loss of Se from Sec resulting in formation of dehydroalanine. To understand the nature of these Sec modifications is crucial for an understanding of selenoprotein reactivities in biological, physiological and pathophysiological contexts.

On the Crystal Chemistry of Inorganic Nitrides: Crystal-Chemical Parameters and Opportunities in the Exploration of Their Compositional Space

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Charles Gagné
Keyword(s):  
Functional Properties ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Lone Pair ◽  
Length Variation ◽  
Electronic Effects ◽  
Statistical Knowledge ◽  
Redox Active ◽  
Multiply Bonded ◽  
Jahn Teller ◽  
Compositional Space

The scarcity of nitrogen in Earth’s crust, combined with challenging synthesis, have made inorganic nitrides a relatively-unexplored class of compounds compared to their naturally-abundant oxide counterparts. To facilitate exploration of their compositional space via <i>a priori</i> modeling, and to help <i>a posteriori</i> structure verification not limited to inferring the oxidation state of redox-active cations, we derive a suite of bond-valence parameters and Lewis-acid strength values for 76 cations observed bonding to N<sup>3-</sup>, and further outline a baseline statistical knowledge of bond lengths for these compounds. We examine structural and electronic effects responsible for the functional properties and anomalous bonding behavior of inorganic nitrides, and identify promising venues for exploring uncharted compositional spaces beyond the reach of high-throughput computational methods. We find that many mechanisms of bond-length variation ubiquitous to oxide and oxysalt compounds (e.g., lone-pair stereoactivity, the Jahn-Teller and pseudo Jahn-Teller effects) are similarly pervasive in inorganic nitrides, and are occasionally observed to result in greater distortion magnitude than their oxide counterparts. We identify inorganic nitrides with multiply-bonded metal ions as a promising venue in heterogeneous catalysis, e.g. in the development of a post-Haber-Bosch process proceeding at milder reaction conditions, thus representing further opportunity in the thriving exploration of the functional properties of this emerging class of materials.<br>

Energetic Control of Redox-Active Polymers Towards Safe Organic Bioelectronic Materials

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Giovannitti ◽  
Reem B. Rashid ◽  
Quentin Thiburce ◽  
Bryan D. Paulsen ◽  
Camila Cendra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Oxygen ◽  
Organic Semiconductors ◽  
Side Reaction ◽  
Semiconducting Polymers ◽  
Side Reactions ◽  
Redox Active ◽  
Donor Acceptor ◽  
Electrochemical Devices ◽  
Biological Environment ◽  
Device Operation

<p>Avoiding faradaic side reactions during the operation of electrochemical devices is important to enhance the device stability, to achieve low power consumption, and to prevent the formation of reactive side‑products. This is particularly important for bioelectronic devices which are designed to operate in biological systems. While redox‑active materials based on conducting and semiconducting polymers represent an exciting class of materials for bioelectronic devices, they are susceptible to electrochemical side‑reactions with molecular oxygen during device operation. We show that this electrochemical side reaction yields hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>), a reactive side‑product, which may be harmful to the local biological environment and may also accelerate device degradation. We report a design strategy for the development of redox-active organic semiconductors based on donor-acceptor copolymers that prevent the formation of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> during device operation. This study elucidates the previously overlooked side-reactions between redox-active conjugated polymers and molecular oxygen in electrochemical devices for bioelectronics, which is critical for the operation of electrolyte‑gated devices in application-relevant environments.</p>

Supramolecular Assembly of U(IV) Clusters and Superatoms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Colliard ◽  
Gregory Morrosin ◽  
Hans-Conrad zur Loye ◽  
May Nyman
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Dots ◽  
Supramolecular Assembly ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Organic Media ◽  
Body Centered Cubic ◽  
Cluster Anions ◽  
Charge Balance ◽  
Interpenetrating Networks ◽  
Hierarchical Assembly ◽  
Two Parameters

Superatoms are nanometer-sized molecules or particles that can form ordered lattices, mimicking their atomic counterparts. Hierarchical assembly of superatoms gives rise to emergent properties in superlattices of quantum-dots, p-block clusters, and fullerenes. Here, we introduce a family of uranium-oxysulfate cluster anions whose hierarchical assembly in water is controlled by two parameters; acidity and the countercation. In acid, larger Ln<sup>III</sup> (Ln=La-Ho) link hexamer (U<sub>6</sub>) oxoclusters into body-centered cubic frameworks, while smaller Ln<sup>III</sup> (Ln=Er-Lu &Y) promote linking of fourteen U<sub>6</sub>-clusters into hollow superclusters (U<sub>84</sub> superatoms). U<sub>84</sub> assembles into superlattices including cubic-closest packed, body-centered cubic, and interpenetrating networks, bridged by interstitial countercations, and U<sub>6</sub>-clusters. Divalent transition metals (TM=Mn<sup>II </sup>and Zn<sup>II</sup>), with no added acid, charge-balance and promote the fusion of 10 U<sub>6</sub> and 10 U-monomers into a wheel–shaped cluster (U<sub>70</sub>). Dissolution of U<sub>70</sub> in organic media reveals (by small-angle Xray scattering) that differing supramolecular assemblies are accessed, controlled by TM-linking of U<sub>70</sub>-clusters. <br>

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