Cells have long been recognized as life’s building blocks (e.g., Virchow’s dictum “omnis cellula e cellula,” Virchow, 1860). Specifically, a cell’s genome is considered the repository of genetic information that pairs with the cellular machinery to determine the organism’s phenotype. Except for rare circumstances, themajority of a genome is passed on from ancestor to descendant, although the ac...

The effect of toluene solubilization on the size and mobility of Triton X100 (TX100) micelles and TX100/sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) mixed micelles was studied by turbidimetry, dynamic light scattering, and capillary electrophoresis. Micelle growth due to toluene solubilization was observed for both surfactant systems; however, two different modes of growth were seen. Mixed micelles in 0.1 M Na...

Casein micelles contribute to the physicochemical properties of milk and may also influence its functionality. At present, however, there is an incomplete understanding of the casein micelle associated proteins and its diversity among the milk obtained from different species. Therefore, milk samples were collected from seven dairy animals groups, casein fractions were prepared by ultracentrifug...

The anti-apoptotic 19-stranded transmembrane human voltage dependent anion channel isoform 2 (hVDAC-2) β-barrel stability is crucial for anion transport in mitochondria. The role of the unusually high number of cysteine residues in this isoform is poorly understood. Using a Cys-less construct of hVDAC-2, we have investigated the contribution of cysteines to channel function, barrel stability an...

The dynamics of water in Aerosol-OT reverse micelles are investigated with ultrafast infrared spectroscopy of the hydroxyl stretch. In large reverse micelles, the dynamics of water are separable into two ensembles: slow interfacial water and bulklike core water. As the reverse micelle size decreases, the slowing effect of the interface and the collective nature of water reorientation begin to s...

The determinants of monomer activities of lipids dissolved in micellar bile salt solutions have been studied using polyethylene discs as the organic phase of a partitioning system. The studies show that fatty acids and alcohols interact with micelles as a partitioning system so that the monomer activity is determined by micelle volume and the lipid's partition coefficient as well as mass of lip...

Polymer micelles are promising drug delivery vehicles for the delivery of anticancer agents to tumors. Often, anticancer drugs display potent cytotoxic effects towards cancer cells but are too hydrophobic to be administered in the clinic as a free drug. To address this problem, a polymer micelle was designed using a triblock copolymer (ITP-101) that enables hydrophobic drugs to be encapsulated....

Light scattering and small-angle neutron scattering experiments were performed on comicelles of several combinations of oppositely charged (block co)polymers in aqueous solutions. Fundamental differences between the internal structure of this novel type of micelle --termed complex coacervate core micelle (C3Ms), polyion complex (PIC) micelle, block ionomer complex (BIC), or interpolyelectrolyte...