Determination of the Thermodynamic Parameters of DNA Double Helix Unwinding with the Help of Mechanical Methods.

For the first time, rupture event scanning (REVS) procedure based on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and involving only mechanical action was used to determine the height of the energy barrier for dsDNA unwinding. Melting point was determined with the help of this procedure. To determine the thermodynamic parameters including enthalpy, DNA denaturation was represented as a unimolecular process.

Temperature dependence of unwinding forces between complementary oligonucleotides.

Rupture Event Scanning (REVS) was used to study oligonucleotide unwinding under mechanical load. Oligonucleotide melting temperature was successfully estimated using this method. To estimate the enthalpy of reaction, we represented denaturation process as a unimolecular reaction.

QCM-based rupture force measurement as a tool to study DNA dehybridization and duplex stability.

The stability of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) was assessed on the basis of unwinding force measurement. Unwinding force was measured directly with a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The amplitude of its surface oscillations was controlled by supplying variable alternate voltage.

QCM-based measurement of bond rupture forces in DNA double helices for complementarity sensing.

After fixing the DNA molecule in the form of a double helix on the surface of a thickness shear mode resonator (QCM), mechanical oscillations at increasing amplitude cause detorsion of the helix. The force necessary for detorsion can be determined from the voltage applied to the QCM at the rupture moment. The high sensitivity of this method is due to the fact that measurements are carried out in the frequency region around the QCM resonance, where any (even very weak) distortions of the consistent oscillating system cause noticeable distortions of the amplitude-frequency dependence, and these distortions are used to fix the rupture moment.

New procedure to record the rupture of bonds between macromolecules and the surface of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM).

It is shown that an increase in the amplitude of QCM shear oscillations during frequency scanning around the resonance frequency is accompanied (at a definite voltage) by distortions in the amplitude-frequency dependence for QCM. We demonstrated that these distortions are connected to the rupture of macromolecules from the QCM surface. It is shown that the identification of the rupture of particles and macromolecules from the QCM surface can be carried out by relying on the analysis of these distortions of the amplitude-frequency dependence.

Kinetics of the formation of titanium oxynitride and nitride under the action of VUV, studied by means of ellipsometry.

Preparation of thin nanolayers (approximately 10 nm) with the required stoichiometry and minimal grain size is important for the development of nanostructures. The kinetics of the formation of titanium nitride and titanium oxynitride layers through nitridation of the titanium matrix was investigated in the present work. It was shown that the UV radiation causes an increase in nitridation rate, depending on radiation energy, within the studied range 4 to 21 eV.

Separation and detection of bacteria using rupture event scanning.

We have developed a sensitive and economical method to directly detect bacteria, based on the interaction between the bacteria and specific antibodies attached to an oscillating surface. By monotonously increasing the amplitude of oscillation of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) coated with the antibody, the QCM can be used to sensitively detect the acoustic noise produced when the interactions between the bacteria and the surface were broken. We term this process rupture event scanning (REVS).

QCM operating in threshold mode as a gas sensor.

Application of the threshold mode allowed us to use the quartz resonator (quartz crystal microbalance, QCM) as a highly sensitive gas sensor measuring the forces of the rupture of adsorbed gas components from the resonator surface oscillating with increasing amplitude. This procedure allows one to analyze different gas components using the same surface modification, just varying the rupture threshold by varying the amplitude of shear oscillations. The sensitivity of the threshold measurements is 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than for the gravimetric procedure.

Water as a clustering agent in photolysis and photonucleation of benzaldehyde vapor.

The role of water vapor in benzaldehyde photolysis and photonucleation is investigated experimentally as well as with the help of semiempirical estimation of reaction intermediates. It is shown that water molecules act as a clustering agent that brings together two benzaldehyde molecules. This mechanism may explain the experimental observation of glyoxal formation during photolysis in humid carrier gas even in the presence of oxygen, the dependence of the concentrations of glyoxal and diphenyl on water-vapor concentration, and some other unusual facts concerning minor products detected in the experiment.