SOLID STATE MORPHOLOGY AND SIZE TUNING OF NANOSTRUCTURED PLATINUM USING MACROMOLECULAR COMPLEXES

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.The macromolecular complexes Chitosan●(PtCl2)n and PSP-co-4-PVP●(PtCl2)n, were prepared from the respective polymer and PtCl2 in metal:polymer molar ratios 1:1 and 1:5. Pyrolisis of the macromolecular complexes Chitosan●(PtCl2)n and PSP-co-4-PVP●(PtCl2)n at 800 °C under air affords cubic nanostructured Pt in the pure phase. The morphology of the pyrolityc products depends on the molar metal:polymer ratio; i.e. a "cotton" 3D shape for the 1:1 ratio and a 'foamy" 3D shape for the 1:5 ratio. On the other hand, the particle size depends on the polymer nature, obtaining Pt nanoparticles as small as 6 nm for the chitosan precursors in both molar ratio.http://ref.scielo.org/8p5h2

Bimetallic au/ag metal superstructures from macromolecular metal complexes in solid-state

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.Novel bimetallic Au/Ag superstructures have been prepared from solid-state pyrolysis of the macromolecular complexes Chitosan(MLn/M'Ln)n y PSP-4-PVPx( MLn/M'Ln)n with MLn = AuCl3 and M'Ln = Ag(CF3SO3)The characterization was made from XRD (X-ray diffraction of powder), SEM and EDS analysis. Morphologies are influenced by both the nature of the polymer and the metal/polymer, molar ratio of the polymer precursor. EDS analysis suggests a core/shell Au/Ag structure for the materials. A probable mechanism of the formation of these superstructures is discussed. Although separated reports of metallic superstructures of Au or Ag have been recently described, the here reported are the first bimetallic Au/Ag. Key words: Superstructures, Macromolecular complexes, metallic Au and Ag, Pyrolysishttp://ref.scielo.org/y6jcg

Stochastic dynamics of macromolecular-assembly networks

The formation and regulation of macromolecular complexes provides the backbone of most cellular processes, including gene regulation and signal transduction. The inherent complexity of assembling macromolecular structures makes current computational methods strongly limited for understanding how the physical interactions between cellular components give rise to systemic properties of cells. Here we present a stochastic approach to study the dynamics of networks formed by macromolecular complexes in terms of the molecular interactions of their components. Exploiting key thermodynamic concepts, this approach makes it possible to both estimate reaction rates and incorporate the resulting assembly dynamics into the stochastic kinetics of cellular networks. As prototype systems, we consider the lac operon and phage lambda induction switches, which rely on the formation of DNA loops by proteins and on the integration of these protein-DNA complexes into intracellular networks. This cross-scale approach offers an effective starting point to move forward from network diagrams, such as those of protein-protein and DNA-protein interaction networks, to the actual dynamics of cellular processes.Comment: Open Access article available at http://www.nature.com/msb/journal/v2/n1/full/msb4100061.htm

Why not Merge the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)

Motivation: Cellular Electron CryoTomography (CECT) is an emerging 3D imaging technique that visualizes subcellular organization of single cells at sub-molecular resolution and in near-native state. CECT captures large numbers of macromolecular complexes of highly diverse structures and abundances. However, the structural complexity and imaging limits complicate the systematic de novo structural recovery and recognition of these macromolecular complexes. Efficient and accurate reference-free subtomogram averaging and classification represent the most critical tasks for such analysis. Existing subtomogram alignment based methods are prone to the missing wedge effects and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Moreover, existing maximum-likelihood based methods rely on integration operations, which are in principle computationally infeasible for accurate calculation. Results: Built on existing works, we propose an integrated method, Fast Alignment Maximum Likelihood method (FAML), which uses fast subtomogram alignment to sample sub-optimal rigid transformations. The transformations are then used to approximate integrals for maximum-likelihood update of subtomogram averages through expectation-maximization algorithm. Our tests on simulated and experimental subtomograms showed that, compared to our previously developed fast alignment method (FA), FAML is significantly more robust to noise and missing wedge effects with moderate increases of computation cost. Besides, FAML performs well with significantly fewer input subtomograms when the FA method fails. Therefore, FAML can serve as a key component for improved construction of initial structuralmodels frommacromolecules captured by CECT

Chromatography-free purification strategies for large biological macromolecular complexes involving fractionated PEG precipitation and density gradients

A complex interplay between several biological macromolecules maintains cellular homeostasis. Generally, the demanding chemical reactions which sustain life are not performed by individual macromolecules, but rather by several proteins that together form a macromolecular complex. Understanding the functional interactions amongst subunits of these macromolecular machines is fundamental to elucidate mechanisms by which they maintain homeostasis. As the faithful function of macromolecular complexes is essential for cell survival, their mis-function leads to the development of human diseases. Furthermore, detailed mechanistic nterrogation of the function of macromolecular machines can be exploited to develop and optimize biotechnological processes. The purification of intact macromolecular complexes is an essential prerequisite for this; however, chromatographic purification schemes can induce the dissociation of subunits or the disintegration of the whole complex. Here, we discuss the development and application of chromatography-free purification strategies based on fractionated PEG precipitation and orthogonal density gradient centrifugation that overcomes existing limitations of established chromatographic purification protocols. The presented case studies illustrate the capabilities of these procedures for the purification of macromolecular complexes

3-D Ultrastructure of O. tauri: Electron Cryotomography of an Entire Eukaryotic Cell

The hallmark of eukaryotic cells is their segregation of key biological functions into discrete, membrane-bound organelles. Creating accurate models of their ultrastructural complexity has been difficult in part because of the limited resolution of light microscopy and the artifact-prone nature of conventional electron microscopy. Here we explored the potential of the emerging technology electron cryotomography to produce three-dimensional images of an entire eukaryotic cell in a near-native state. Ostreococcus tauri was chosen as the specimen because as a unicellular picoplankton with just one copy of each organelle, it is the smallest known eukaryote and was therefore likely to yield the highest resolution images. Whole cells were imaged at various stages of the cell cycle, yielding 3-D reconstructions of complete chloroplasts, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticula, Golgi bodies, peroxisomes, microtubules, and putative ribosome distributions in-situ. Surprisingly, the nucleus was seen to open long before mitosis, and while one microtubule (or two in some predivisional cells) was consistently present, no mitotic spindle was ever observed, prompting speculation that a single microtubule might be sufficient to segregate multiple chromosomes