Investigation of Surface Integrity Induced by Ultra-Precision Grinding and Scratching of Glassy Carbon.

Glassy carbon provides material characteristics that make it a promising candidate for use as a mould material in precision glass moulding. However, to effectively utilize glassy carbon, a thorough investigation into the machining of high-precision optical surfaces is necessary, which has not been thoroughly investigated. This research analyses the process of material removal and its resulting surface integrity through the use of nano-scratching and ultra-precision grinding. The nano-scratching process begins with ductile plastic deformation, then progresses with funnel-shaped breakouts in the contact zone, and finally concludes with brittle conchoidal breakouts when the cutting depth is increased. The influence of process factors and tool-related parameters resulting from grinding has discernible impacts on the ultimate surface roughness and topography. Enhancing the cutting speed during cross-axis kinematic grinding results in improved surface roughness. Increasing the size of diamond grains and feed rates leads to an increase in surface roughness. An achievable surface roughness of Ra < 5 nm together with ductile-regime grinding behaviour meet optical standards, which makes ultra-precision grinding a suitable process for optical surface generation.

Glycosylation assists binding of HIV protein gp120 to human CD4 receptor.

The role of glycosylation of proteins on its binding affinity is not well understood. Even a monosaccharide (magenta) placed at a glycosylation site can significantly enhance binding of peptides to their receptor. If glycosylated, an HIV protein binds stronger and faster to its primary receptors on human cells.

Influence of Glassy Carbon Surface Finishing on Its Wear Behavior during Precision Glass Moulding of Fused Silica.

Laser technology has a rising demand for high precision Fused Silica components. Precision Glass Moulding (PGM) is a technology that can fulfil the given demands in efficiency and scalability. Due to the elevated process temperatures of almost 1400 °C and the high mechanical load, Glassy Carbon was qualified as an appropriate forming tool material for the moulding of Fused Silica. Former studies revealed that the tools' surface finishing has an important influence on wear behaviour. This paper deals with investigation and analysis of surface preparation processes of Glassy Carbon moulds. In order to fulfil standards for high precision optics, the finishing results will be characterised by sophisticated surface description parameters used in the optics industry. Later on, the mould performance, in terms of wear resistance, is tested in extended moulding experiments. Correlations between the surface finish of the Glassy Carbon tools and their service lifetime are traced back to fundamental physical circumstances and conclusions for an optimal surface treatment are drawn.

Poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone-co-vinyl alcohol), a versatile amphiphilic polymeric scaffold for multivalent probes.

A convenient scaffold based on poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone-co-vinyl alcohol) is proposed for presenting ligands in multivalent format. This amphiphilic polymer supports synthesis of conjugates in both organic and aqueous media, permits enzymatic processing of the ligand precursor, and, finally, offers a choice of formats for evaluation of biological activity either as a soluble inhibitor or as a capture reagent after deposition on a hydrophobic surface or standard microtiter plates.

Discovery and optimization of a natural HIV-1 entry inhibitor targeting the gp41 fusion peptide.

A variety of molecules in human blood have been implicated in the inhibition of HIV-1. However, it remained elusive which circulating natural compounds are most effective in controlling viral replication in vivo. To identify natural HIV-1 inhibitors we screened a comprehensive peptide library generated from human hemofiltrate. The most potent fraction contained a 20-residue peptide, designated VIRUS-INHIBITORY PEPTIDE (VIRIP), corresponding to the C-proximal region of alpha1-antitrypsin, the most abundant circulating serine protease inhibitor. We found that VIRIP inhibits a wide variety of HIV-1 strains including those resistant to current antiretroviral drugs. Further analysis demonstrated that VIRIP blocks HIV-1 entry by interacting with the gp41 fusion peptide and showed that a few amino acid changes increase its antiretroviral potency by two orders of magnitude. Thus, as a highly specific natural inhibitor of the HIV-1 gp41 fusion peptide, VIRIP may lead to the development of another class of antiretroviral drugs.