Probing the Interaction at the Nano-Bio Interface Using Raman Spectroscopy: ZnO Nanoparticles and Adenosine Triphosphate Biomolecules.

With the advent of nanobiotechnology, there will be an increase in the interaction between engineered nanomaterials and biomolecules. Nanoconjugates with cells, organelles, and intracellular structures containing DNA, RNA, and proteins establish sequences of nano-bio boundaries that depend on several intricate complex biophysicochemical reactions. Given the complexity of these interactions, and their import in governing life at the molecular level, it is extremely important to begin to understand such nanoparticle-biomaterial association. Here we report a unique method of probing the kinematics between an energy biomolecule, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and hydrothermally synthesized ZnO nanostructures using micro Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and electron microscopy experiments. For the first time we have shown by Raman spectroscopy analysis that the ZnO nanostructures interact strongly with the nitrogen (N7) atom in the adenine ring of the ATP biomolecule. Raman spectroscopy also confirms the importance of nucleotide base NH2 group hydrogen bonding with water molecules and phosphate group ionization and their pH dependence. Calculation of molecular bond force constants from Raman spectroscopy reinforces our experimental data. These data present convincing evidence of pH-dependent interactions between ATP and zinc oxide nanomaterials. Significantly, Raman spectroscopy is able to probe such difficult to study and subtle nano-bio interactions and may be applied to elegantly elucidate the nano-bio interface more generally.

Direct effects of tillage on the activity density of ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) weed seed predators.

Ground beetles are well known as beneficial organisms in agroecosystems, contributing to the predation of a wide range of animal pests and weed seeds. Tillage has generally been shown to have a negative effect on ground beetles, but it is not known whether this is because of direct mortality or the result of indirect losses resulting from dispersal caused by habitat deterioration. In 2005, field experiments measured direct, tillage-induced mortality, of four carabid weed seed predators, Harpalus rufipes DeGeer, Agonum muelleri Herbst, Anisodactylus merula Germar, and Amara cupreolata Putzeys, and one arthropod predator, Pterostichus melanarius Illiger, common to agroecosystems in the northeastern United States. Three tillage treatments (moldboard plow, chisel plow, and rotary tillage) were compared with undisturbed controls at two sites (Stillwater and Presque Isle) and at two dates (July and August) in Maine. Carabid activity density after disturbance was measured using fenced pitfall traps installed immediately after tillage to remove any effects of dispersal. Rotary tillage and moldboard plowing reduced weed seed predator activity density 52 and 54%, respectively. Carabid activity density after chisel plowing was similar to the undisturbed control. This trend was true for each of the weed seed predator species studied. However, activity density of the arthropod predator P. melanarius was reduced by all tillage types, indicating a greater sensitivity to tillage than the four weed seed predator species. These results confirm the need to consider both direct and indirect effects of management in studies of invertebrate seed predators.

Reciprocal painting between humans, De Brazza's and patas monkeys reveals a major bifurcation in the Cercopithecini phylogenetic tree.

We report on reciprocal painting between humans and two Cercopithecini species, Erythrocebus patas (patas monkey) and Cercopithecus neglectus (De Brazza's monkey). Both human and monkeys chromosome-specific probes were made by degenerate oligonucleotide primed PCR (DOP-PCR) from flow sorted chromosomes. Metaphases of both monkey species were first hybridized with human chromosome-specific probes and then human metaphases were hybridized with chromosome paints from each monkey species. The human paint probes detected 34 homologous segments on the C. neglectus karyotype, while the C. neglectus probes, including the Y, revealed 41 homologous segments on the human karyotype. The probes specific for human chromosomes detected 29 homologous segments in the E. patas karyotype, while the patas monkey probes painted 34 segments on the human karyotype. We tested various hypotheses of Cercopithecini phylogeny and taxonomy developed by morphologists, molecular biologists and cytogeneticists. Our hybridization data confirm that fissions (both Robertsonian and non-Robertsonian) are the main mechanism driving the evolutionary trend in Cercopithecini toward higher diploid numbers and strongly suggest an early phylogenetic bifurcation in Cercopithecini. One branch leads to Cercopithecus neglectus/Cercopithecus wolfi while the other line leads to Erythrocebus patas/Chlorocebus aethiops. Allenopithecus nigroviridis may have diverged prior to this major phylogenetic node.

Threshold and ablation efficiency studies of microsecond ablation of gelatin under water.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Laser thrombolysis is the selective ablation of thrombus occluding vessels by microsecond pulsed laser irradiation. To achieve efficient ablation of thrombus, the optimal wavelength, spot size, and pulse energy need to be determined. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: A gelatin-based thrombus model confined in 3 mm inner diameter tubes was ablated under water using a 1 microsecond pulsed dye laser. Wavelength studies were conducted by varying the absorption of the gelatin between 10-2000 cm-1 corresponding to the waveband between 400-600 nm on the absorption spectrum of thrombus. A unique spectrophotometric method was developed to measure the ablated mass. An acoustic method was used to measure ablation thresholds under water as a function of absorption. RESULTS: The mass removed per pulse per unit energy was nearly equal over an absorption range of 100-1000 cm-1 at pulse energies above threshold. Mass removal increased linearly with pulse energy but did not have a direct relationship with radiant exposure. Ablation thresholds indicate that the gelatin needed to be heated only to 100 degrees C for ablation to commence. Ablation masses measured were an order of magnitude higher than those predicted by thermal ablation models. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that any wavelength between 410-590 nm can be used for effective thrombolysis. The ablation efficiency depends on the total energy delivered rather than the radiant exposure. The high ablation efficiencies suggest a dominance of the mechanical action of vapor bubbles over thermal ablation in the ablation process.

Drug delivery with microsecond laser pulses into gelatin.

Photo acoustic drug delivery is a technique for localized drug delivery by laser-induced hydrodynamic pressure following cavitation bubble expansion and collapse. Photoacoustic drug delivery was investigated on gelatin-based thrombus models with planar and cylindrical geometries by use of one microsecond laser pulses. Solutions of a hydrophobic dye in mineral oil permitted monitoring of delivered colored oil into clear gelatin-based thrombus models. Cavitation bubble development and photoacoustic drug delivery were visualized with flash photography. This study demonstrated that cavitation is the governing mechanism for photoacoustic drug delivery, and the deepest penetration of colored oil in gels followed the bubble collapse. Spatial distribution measurements revealed that colored oil could be driven a few millimeters into the gels in both axial and radial directions, and the penetration was less than 500 µm when the gelatin structure was not fractured.

Wheal and flare responses to opioids in humans.

Certain opioids release histamine from cutaneous mast cells to produce local wheal and flare responses and adverse hemodynamic effects. In vivo responses to opioids suggest that cutaneous responses result from the interaction of opioids with opioid receptors on human mast cells. There are no data evaluating or comparing the opioids currently used in anesthesia. Volunteers were injected intradermally with different opioids as well as with naloxone and antihistamines to evaluate their effects on cutaneous mast cell reactivity and cutaneous vascular responses. Fentanyl and morphine produced concentration-dependent wheal and flare responses in the range of 5 X 10(-6) M to 1.5 X 10(-3) M. Volunteers were then tested intradermally with different opioids and histamine at a 5 X 10(-4) M concentration to determine their relative cutaneous effects. Morphine, meperidine, fentanyl, and sufentanil produced both wheal and flare responses that were significantly greater than those due to saline (P less than 0.05). Naloxone, alfentanil, and nalbuphine did not produce significant wheal or flare responses. Butorphenol was followed by a significant wheal but no flare. Naloxone attentuated cutaneous wheal and flare responses to fentanyl and the flare response to morphine. Intradermal antihistamines (diphenhydramine and cimetidine) produced significant wheal and flare responses. Electron micrographs of biopsies from fentanyl-induced wheals demonstrated normal mast cell architecture with no evidence of mast cell degranulation. Opioid effects on wheal and flare responses and mast cell degranulation appear independent of opioid analgesic potency. Opioids produce cutaneous vascular responses dependent on both histamine release from mast cells and direct effects on the vasculature.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)