Shear degradation is examined in size-exclusion chromatography (SEC, or GPC) of native starch in an eluent system (dimethylsulfoxide and LiBr) in which the starch is completely dissolved. Changes in apparent size distribution with flow rate suggested extensive shear scission of the amylopectin region. For smaller sizes, largely amylose, there was no significant scission for lower flow rates. Quantification by analogy to shear breakup of dispersed droplets gives a scaling law for conditions for shear scission of highly branched polymers. This shows both that it is impossible to obtain reliable size distributions for the amylopectin component of starch using current SEC technology and also that the amylose region is not significantly polluted by degraded amylopectin for lower flow rates. Hence, the complete size distribution of starch can only be obtained with SEC for smaller sizes (largely amylose), plus a size-separation technique with very low shear, such as field-flow fractionation, for the amylopectin region.

Pulsed laser polymerization was used in conjunction with aqueous-phase size exclusion chromatography with multi-angle laser light scattering detection to determine the propagation rate coefficient (k p ) for the water-soluble monomer acrylamide. The influence of the monomer concentration was investigated from 0.3 to 2.8 M, and k p decreased with increasing monomer concentration. These data and data for acrylic acid in water were consistent with this decrease being caused by the depletion of the monomer concentration by dimer formation in water. Two photoinitiators, uranyl nitrate and 2,2Ј-azobis(2-amidinopropane) (V-50), were used; k p was dependent on their concentrations. The concentration dependence of k p was ascribed to a combination of solvent effects arising from association (thermodynamic effects) and changes in the free energy of activation (effects of the solvent on the structure of the reactant and transition state). Arrhenius parameters for k p (M Ϫ1 s Ϫ1 ) ϭ 10 7.2 exp(Ϫ13.4 kJ mol Ϫ1 /RT) and k p (M Ϫ1 s Ϫ1 ) ϭ 10 7.1 exp(Ϫ12.9 kJ mol Ϫ1 /RT) were obtained for 0.002 M uranyl nitrate and V-50, respectively, with a monomer concentration of 0.32 M.

Enzymes expressed by highly salt-tolerant organisms show many modifications compared with salt-affected counterparts including biased amino acid and lower α-helix content, lower solvent accessibility and negative surface charge. Here, we show that halotolerance can be generated in an enzyme solely by modifying surface residues. Rational design of carbonic anhydrase II is undertaken in three stages replacing 18 residues in total, crystal structures confirm changes are confined to surface residues. Catalytic activities and thermal unfolding temperatures of the designed enzymes increase at high salt concentrations demonstrating their shift to halotolerance, whereas the opposite response is found in the wild-type enzyme. Molecular dynamics calculations reveal a key role for sodium ions in increasing halotolerant enzyme stability largely through interactions with the highly ordered first Na+ hydration shell. For the first time, an approach to generate extreme halotolerance, a trait with broad application in industrial biocatalysis, in a wild-type enzyme is demonstrated.

We have revealed a connection between DNA-nanoparticle (NP) binding and in vitro DNA damage induced by citrate- and branched polyethylenimine-coated silver nanoparticles (c-AgNPs and b-AgNPs) as well as graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets. All three types of nanostructures triggered an early onset of DNA melting, where the extent of the melting point shift depends upon both the type and concentration of the NPs. Specifically, at a DNA/NP weight ratio of 1.1/1, the melting temperature of lambda DNA dropped from 94 °C down to 76 °C, 60 °C, and room temperature for GO, c-AgNPs and b-AgNPs, respectively. Consistently, dynamic light scattering revealed that the largest changes in DNA hydrodynamic size were also associated with the binding of b-AgNPs. Upon introduction to cells, b-AgNPs also exhibited the highest cytotoxicity, at the half-maximal inhibitory (IC50) concentrations of 3.2, 2.9, and 5.2 mg/L for B and T-lymphocyte cell lines and primary lymphocytes, compared to the values of 13.4, 12.2, and 12.5 mg/L for c-AgNPs and 331, 251, and 120 mg/L for GO nanosheets, respectively. At cytotoxic concentrations, all NPs elicited elevated genotoxicities via the increased number of micronuclei in the lymphocyte cells. However, b-AgNPs also induced micronuclei at subtoxic concentrations starting from 0.1 mg/L, likely due to their stronger cellular adhesion and internalization, as well as their subsequent interference with normal DNA synthesis or chromosome segregation during the cell cycle. This study facilitates our understanding of the effects of NP chemical composition, surface charge, and morphology on DNA stability and genotoxicity, with implications ranging from nanotoxicology to nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine.

A protocol is presented for the high-throughput (HT) production of lyotropic liquid crystalline phases from libraries of lipids and lipid mixtures using standard liquid dispensing robotics, implementing methods that circumvent the problems traditionally associated with handling the highly viscous cubic phase. In addition, the ability to structurally characterize lipidic phases and assess functionality for membrane proteins contained within cubic phases, in a HT manner, is demonstrated. The techniques are combined and exemplified using the application of membrane protein crystallization within lipidic cubic phases.