Plasma enhanced decomposition of propylene on activated carbon fibers

Activated carbons with uniform size micropores appear to have the highest potential for improvement of their molecular sieving properties by employing chemical vapor deposition techniques. In this work RF plasma was used to enhance propylene cracking and to examine its effect on the pore structure, chemical surface groups and selective CO2 adsorption of a commercial activated carbon fiber. Plasma treatment of carbon fibers was carried out under various experimental conditions. Raman, FTIR and XPS spectroscopy were used to evaluate the modifications on the fibers surface. SEM was also used for the observation of fibers surface before and after plasma treatment

The Periplasmic Chaperones Skp and SurA

The periplasm of Gram-negative bacteria contains a specialized chaperone network that facilitates the transport of unfolded membrane proteins to the outer membrane as its primary functional role. The network, involving the chaperones Skp and SurA as key players and potentially additional chaperones, is indispensable for the survival of the cell. Structural descriptions of the apo forms of these molecular chaperones were initially provided by X-ray crystallography. Subsequently, a combination of experimental biophysical methods including solution NMR spectroscopy provided a detailed understanding of full-length chaperone-client complexes . The data showed that conformational changes and dynamic re-organization of the chaperones upon client binding, as well as client dynamics on the chaperone surface are crucial for function. This chapter gives an overview of the structure-function relationship of the dynamic conformational rearrangements that regulate the functional cycles of the periplasmic molecular chaperones Skp and SurA