The properties of a new synthetic LDL binding material, consisting of fragments of loosely crosslinked hydrogel, based on sulfated polyvinylalcohol are described. When incubated with 20 times its volume of plasma, this material binds up to 95% of the LDL, even from plasma with severely elevated LDL cholesterol levels (up to 20 mM). In addition a cholesterol-rich subfraction of VLDL is bound but...

Monomer composition, geometry, cross-link density, and distribution are the primary determinants of material properties in thermosetting networks.

INTRODUCTION: Vitamin E-stabilized, radiation cross-linked ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is used in total joint arthroplasty as a bearing surface with low wear and improved mechanical properties compared to irradiated and melted UHMWPE [1]. Vitamin E stabilizes the residual free radicals trapped in the material after irradiation and ensures oxidative resistance, thus resulti...

We report the results of x-ray reflectivity measurements of thin films formed by different water-soluble proteins at the air-aqueous solution interface. It is demonstrated that glucose oxidase, alcohol dehydrogenase, and urease molecules denaturate at the air-aqueous solution interface to form 8- to 14-A-thick peptide sheets. X-ray reflectivity data indicate that the spreading of a lipid monola...

ATP is required for nucleation of actin filament branches by Arp2/3 complex, but the influence of ATP binding and hydrolysis are poorly understood. We determined crystal structures of bovine Arp2/3 complex cocrystallized with various bound adenine nucleotides and cations. Nucleotide binding favors closure of the nucleotide-binding cleft of Arp3, but no large-scale conformational changes in the ...

The clinical drug psoralen, in the presence of 360-nm light, binds to cellular DNA, forming monofunctional adducts with pyrimidine bases and interstrand cross-links. Cross-links, however, rather than monoadducts, appear to be the DNA lesion primarily responsible for the sensitizing action of this drug. Formation of an interstrand cross-link necessarily damages both DNA strands at nearly the sam...

Numerous swelling parameters measured by magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM) are found to correlate with cross-link density of the polymer network under investigation. Use of these parameters to assess the three-dimensional network structure of coal is discussed.