The fluorescence microscopy methods presently used to characterize protein motion in cells infer protein motion from indirect observables, rather than measuring protein motion directly. Operationalizing these methods requires expertise that can constitute a barrier to their broad utilization. Here, we have developed PIPE (photo-converted intensity profile expansion) to directly measure the moti...

We report on the development of photosensitizer-conjugated gold nanorods (MMP2P-GNR) in which photosensitizers were conjugated onto the surface of gold nanorods (GNR) via a protease-cleavable peptide linker. We hypothesized that fluorescence and phototoxicity of the conjugated photosensitizers would be suppressed in their native state, becoming activated only after cleavage by the target protea...

Conformational features of reduced and disulfide intact hen egg white lysozyme in aqueous 1,4-dioxane and 3-chloro-1, 2-propanediol solutions have been examined using circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy. We find that in presence of 1, 4-dioxane, reduced lysozyme assumes a relatively compact conformational form with secondary structure closer to native state and no tertiary structur...

Organization and dynamics of cellular membranes in the nervous system are crucial for the function of neuronal membrane receptors. The lipid composition of neuronal cells is unique and has been correlated with the increased complexity in the organization of the nervous system during evolution. Previous work from our laboratory has established bovine hippocampal membranes as a convenient natural...

Studying biological structures with fine details does not only require a microscope with high resolution, but also a sample preparation process that preserves the structures in a near-native state. Live-cell imaging is restricted mostly to the field of light microscopy. For studies requiring much higher resolution, fast freezing techniques (vitrification) are successfully used to immobilize the...

1. The removal of the beta(2)A-globulins from three sera from treated ragweed-sensitive individuals by immune absorption was associated with the loss of all detectable skin-sensitizing antibody activity as demonstrated by Prausnitz-Küstner testing. 2. Gel filtration studies, with sephadex G-200, indicated that the fractions containing only macroglobulins were devoid of all detectable skin-sensi...

1. The stability towards pH changes, thermal and chemical (guanidine hydrochloride) denaturation of the oxy- and apo-forms of the native Rapana thomasiana haemocyanin and its structural subunits, RHSS1 and RHSS2, has been investigated using fluorescence and CD spectroscopy. The association of the subunits into haemocyanin aggregates increases considerably the melting temperature and the free en...