Particles Within Membranes: A Freeze-Etch View

1971 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-441
Author(s):  
N. E. FLOWER
Keyword(s):  
Internal Structure ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Small Particles ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Number Distribution ◽  
Large Particles ◽  
Freeze Etching

Particles are commonly present on the membrane faces revealed by freeze-etching. The number, distribution and size of these particles vary considerably both between different membranes and, in many cases, between the 2 fracture faces found in individual membranes. Many of the larger particles appear to be too large to fit totally within smooth-surfaced membranes, so raising the question of how particles, especially the larger ones, are contained within membranes. This could be accomplished by a local reorganization of the membrane's internal structure such that small particles would be totally enclosed within smooth-surfaced membranes, while large particles would protrude from the membrane surface. Alternatively, all sizes of particles could be contained within membranes by a bulging of the 2 component lamellae such that protuberances, having a larger diameter than the underlying particles, would arise on the membrane surface. Evidence is presented to show that in the case of specialized particles, which are located in rows around the base of flagella in the mollusc Cominella maculosa, protuberances are present on the membrane surface. However, it is possible that particles could be accommodated within membranes from other tissues by a different mechanism, and only further work will decide whether or not the present findings can be applied to these other membrane surfaces.

Path of Fracture Planes Along Membrane Surfaces in Frozen-Etched Tissue

1969 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 334-335
Author(s):  
L. V. Leak
Keyword(s):  
Fracture Process ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Fracture Plane ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Fracture Planes ◽  
En Face ◽  
Freeze Etching ◽  
Conventional Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cellular Organelles

The course of the fracture plane through frozen tissue may very often follow surfaces of membranes for long distances before cross fractures are made, exposing the interior of cells and cellular organelles. From studies on frozen-etched cellular membranes Moor and Muhlethaler suggested that fractures occur along external surfaces of membranes, while Branton proposed that the fracture process splits the membrane in half, revealing either of the two internal membrane faces. Our earlier studies suggested that most of the en face views of membranes represented fractures along the membrane surface. The present study combines the technique of freeze-etching with those of conventional electron microscopy in an effort to provide additional information on the precise nature and path of the fracture plane along membrane surfaces.

scholarly journals A COMPARISON OF CHLOROPLAST MEMBRANE SURFACES VISUALIZED BY FREEZE-ETCH AND NEGATIVE STAINING TECHNIQUES; AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF MEMBRANE FRACTIONS OBTAINED FROM DIGITONIN-TREATED SPINACH CHLOROPLASTS

1969 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Arntzen ◽  
R. A. Dilley ◽  
F. L. Crane
Keyword(s):  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Internal Surface ◽  
Coupling Factor ◽  
Negative Staining ◽  
Fracture Plane ◽  
Chloroplast Membranes ◽  
Chloroplast Membrane ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Large Particles ◽  
Freeze Etching

Spinach chloroplast lamellae were washed free of negatively staining surface particles (carboxydismutase and coupling factor protein) and the resulting smooth-surfaced lamellae still showed the usual large (175 A) and small (110 A) particles seen by freeze-etching. Therefore, the freeze-fracture plane probably occurs along an internal surface of the chloroplast membrane. Fractions obtained by differential centrifugation of digitonin-treated chloroplast membranes were studied by negative staining, thin sectioning, and freeze-etching techniques for electron microscopy. The material sedimenting between 1,000 g and 10,000 g, enriched in photosystem II activity, was shown to consist of membrane fragments. These freeze-etched membrane fragments were found to have large particles on most of the exposed fracture faces. The large particles had the same size and distribution pattern as the 175 A particles seen in intact chloroplast membranes. The material sedimenting between 50,000 g and 144,000 g, which had only photosystem I activity, was found to consist of particles in various degrees of aggregation. Freeze-etching of this fraction revealed only small particles corresponding to the 110 A particles seen in intact chloroplasts. A model is presented suggesting that chloroplast lamellar membranes have a binary structure, which digitonin splits into two components. The two membrane fragments have different structures, revealed by freeze-etching, and different photochemical and biochemical functions.

Stereo Electron Microscopy Applied to High Resolution Freeze-Etch Replicas

1970 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 306-307
Author(s):  
L. Andrew Staehelin
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Plastic Deformation ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Smooth Surfaces ◽  
Small Particles ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Wide Acceptance ◽  
New Information ◽  
Number Of Particles ◽  
Small Holes

Freeze-etched membranes usually appear as relatively smooth surfaces covered with numerous small particles and a few small holes (Fig. 1). In 1966 Branton (1“) suggested that these surfaces represent split inner mem¬brane faces and not true external membrane surfaces. His theory has now gained wide acceptance partly due to new information obtained from double replicas of freeze-cleaved specimens (2,3) and from freeze-etch experi¬ments with surface labeled membranes (4). While theses studies have fur¬ther substantiated the basic idea of membrane splitting and have shown clearly which membrane faces are complementary to each other, they have left the question open, why the replicated membrane faces usually exhibit con¬siderably fewer holes than particles. According to Branton's theory the number of holes should on the average equal the number of particles. The absence of these holes can be explained in either of two ways: a) it is possible that no holes are formed during the cleaving process e.g. due to plastic deformation (5); b) holes may arise during the cleaving process but remain undetected because of inadequate replication and microscope techniques.

scholarly journals Fracture faces of frozen membranes: 50th anniversary

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-423
Author(s):  
Daniel Branton
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Lipid Bilayers ◽  
Fracture Process ◽  
Relative Proportion ◽  
50Th Anniversary ◽  
Biological Membranes ◽  
Bilayer Membrane ◽  
Biological Cells ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Freeze Etching

In 1961, the development of an improved freeze-etching (FE) procedure to prepare rapidly frozen biological cells or tissues for electron microscopy raised two important questions. How does a frozen cell membrane fracture? What do the extensive face views of the cell’s membranes exposed by the fracture process of FE tell us about the overall structure of biological membranes? I discovered that all frozen membranes tend to split along weakly bonded lipid bilayers. Consequently, the fracture process exposes internal membrane faces rather than either of the membrane’s two external surfaces. During etching, when ice is allowed to sublime after fracturing, limited regions of the actual membrane surfaces are revealed. Examination of the fractured faces and etched surfaces provided strong evidence that biological membranes are organized as lipid bilayers with some proteins on the surface and other proteins extending through the bilayer. Membrane splitting made it possible for electron microscopy to show the relative proportion of a membrane’s area that exists in either of these two organizational modes.

Structure of Microphase-Separated Silica/Siloxane Molecular Composites

1989 ◽  
Vol 171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale W. Schaefer ◽  
James E. Mark ◽  
David Mccarthy ◽  
Li Jian ◽  
C. -C. Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phase Separation ◽  
Kinetic Studies ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Small Particles ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Filled Elastomers ◽  
Polymeric Networks ◽  
Large Particles ◽  
Molecular Composites

ABSTRACTThe structure of several classes of silica/siloxane molecular composites is investigated using small-angle x-ray and neutron scattering. These filled elastomers can be prepared through different synthethic protocols leading to a range of fillers including particulates with both rough and smooth surfaces, particulates with dispersed interfaces, and polymeric networks. We also find examples of bicontinuous filler phases that we attribute to phase separation via spinodal decomposition. In-situ kinetic studies of particulate fillers show that the precipitate does not develop by conventional nucleation-and-growth. We see no evidence of growth by ripening whereby large particles grow by consumption of small particles. Rather, there appears to be a limiting size set by the elastomer network itself. Phase separation develops by continuous nucleation of particles and subsequent growth to the limiting size. We also briefly report studies of polymer-toughened glasses. In this case, we find no obvious correlation between organic content and structure.

Analysis of the Particles’ Movement Over the Flat and Profiled Rotating Discs surface in the Velocity Layer of the Viscous Gas

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-23
Author(s):  
Valeriy I. Pinakov ◽  
Konstantin V. Kulik ◽  
Boris E. Grinberg
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Difference ◽  
Surface Region ◽  
Vertex Angle ◽  
Oscillation Regime ◽  
Small Particles ◽  
Magnus Force ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Rotating Discs ◽  
Large Particles ◽  
Velocity Layer

Experiments on the rotating in the air cones with vertex angle β = 120º and flat disc shown that on frequencies Ω ≥ 2.5 hertz exists a qualitative difference in movement for the particles with diameters d ≈ 1 mm and d ≈ 0.1 mm. The particles with d ≈ 0.1 mm move in the near-surface region, the particles with d ≈ 1 mm jump up to 3 cm. Comparison of the spherical and aspheric (ellipsoid with axles d, d and 4 /3 d) particles' kinematics moving shown the inevitability of the large particles jump occurrence. Large particles come to self-oscillation regime by reason of periodically appearance of the Magnus force. Small particles are localized in the velocity layer

scholarly journals Phosphoinositides Regulate Membrane-dependent Actin Assembly by Latex Bead Phagosomes

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1190-1202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène Defacque ◽  
Evelyne Bos ◽  
Boyan Garvalov ◽  
Cécile Barret ◽  
Christian Roy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Binding Sites ◽  
Kinase Activity ◽  
Kinase Inhibitors ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Latex Bead ◽  
Actin Assembly ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Organelle Membrane

Actin assembly on membrane surfaces is an elusive process in which several phosphoinositides (PIPs) have been implicated. We have reconstituted actin assembly using a defined membrane surface, the latex bead phagosome (LBP), and shown that the PI(4,5)P2-binding proteins ezrin and/or moesin were essential for this process ( Defacque et al., 2000b ). Here, we provide several lines of evidence that both preexisting and newly synthesized PI(4,5)P2, and probably PI(4)P, are essential for phagosomal actin assembly; only these PIPs were routinely synthesized from ATP during in vitro actin assembly. Treatment of LBP with phospholipase C or with adenosine, an inhibitor of type II PI 4-kinase, as well as preincubation with anti-PI(4)P or anti-PI(4,5)P2 antibodies all inhibited this process. Incorporation of extra PI(4)P or PI(4,5)P2 into the LBP membrane led to a fivefold increase in the number of phagosomes that assemble actin. An ezrin mutant mutated in the PI(4,5)P2-binding sites was less efficient in binding to LBPs and in reconstituting actin assembly than wild-type ezrin. Our data show that PI 4- and PI 5-kinase, and under some conditions also PI 3-kinase, activities are present on LBPs and can be activated by ATP, even in the absence of GTP or cytosolic components. However, PI 3-kinase activity is not required for actin assembly, because the process was not affected by PI 3-kinase inhibitors. We suggest that the ezrin-dependent actin assembly on the LBP membrane may require active turnover of D4 and D5 PIPs on the organelle membrane.

Topology Optimization of Spacers for Maximizing Permeate Flux on Membrane Surface in Reverse Osmosis Channel

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seungjae Oh ◽  
Semyung Wang ◽  
Minkyu Park ◽  
Joonha Kim
Keyword(s):  
Topology Optimization ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Reverse Osmosis ◽  
Membrane Surface ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Permeate Flux ◽  
Membrane Channel ◽  
Initial Attempt ◽  
Membrane Surfaces ◽  
Ro Membrane

The objective of this study is to design spacers using fluid topology optimization in 2D crossflow Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane channel to improve the performance of RO processes. This study is an initial attempt to apply topology optimization to designing spacers in RO membrane channel. The performance was evaluated by the quantity of permeate flux penetrating both upper and lower membrane surfaces. A coupled Navier-Stokes and Convection-Diffusion model was employed to calculate the permeate flux. To get reliable solutions, stabilization methods were employed with standard finite element method. The nine reference models which consist of the combination of circle, rectangular, triangle shape and zigzag, cavity, submerge configuration of spacers were simulated. Such models were compared with new model designed by topology optimization. The permeate flux at both membrane surfaces was determined as an objective function. In addition, permissible pressure drop along the channel and spacer volume were used as constraints. As a result of topology optimization as the permissible pressure drop changes in channel, characteristics of spacer design development was founded. Spacer design based on topology optimization was reconstructed to a simple one considering manufactuability and characteristics of development spacer design. When a simplified design was compared with previous 9 models, new design has a better performance in terms of permeate flux and wall concentration at membrane surface.

scholarly journals Gravitational differentiation in the regimes from stokes settling to Rayleigh–Raylor flows

2019 ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
V. P. Trubitsyn
Keyword(s):  
Viscous Fluid ◽  
Interacting Particles ◽  
Small Particles ◽  
Continuous Transition ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Earth's Core ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Large Particles ◽  
Two Component

The Earth’s core was formed under gravitational differentiation in the course of the separation of iron and silicates. Most of the iron has gone into the core as early as when the Earth was growing. However, iron continued to precipitate even during the subsequent partial solidification which developed from the bottom upwards. At the different stages and in the different layers of the mantle, iron was deposited in different regimes. In this paper, the mechanisms of the deposition of a cloud of heavy interacting particles (or drops) in a viscous fluid are considered. A new approach suitable for analytical and numerical tracing the changes in the structure of the flows in a two-component suspension under continuous transition from the Stokessettling (for the case of a cloud of large particles) to the Rayleigh–Taylor flows and heavy diapirs (for the case of a cloud of small particles) is suggested. It is numerically and analytically shown that the both regimes are the different limiting cases of the sedimentation convection in suspensions.

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