Inhibition of protein and cell attachment on materials generated from N-(2-hydroxypropyl) acrylamide.

Effective control over biointerfacial interactions is essential for a broad range of biomedical applications. At this point in time, only a relatively small range of radically polymerizable monomers have been described that are able to generate low fouling polymer materials and surfaces. The most important examples that have been successfully used in the context of the reduction of nonspecific protein adsorption and subsequent cell attachment include PEG-based monomers such as poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA), zwitterionic monomers such as 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine and noncharged monomers such as acrylamide and N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMAm).

Chemiluminescence from thermal oxidation of amino acids and proteins.

Chemiluminescence (CL) with maximum emission in the range 550-650 nm is observed when proteins and certain amino acids are heated in air, and CL intensity is significantly reduced in nitrogen. Of the 20 common amino acids, lysine (Lys) has the highest thermal CL intensity by a factor of approximately 30 over arginine, threonine and asparagine. This finding differs from previous studies on amino acids and proteins oxidised using free radical initiators or singlet oxygen, where tryptophan was the dominant factor for CL emission.

Photoproducts formed in the photoyellowing of collagen in the presence of a fluorescent whitening agent.

Fibrous proteins discolor on exposure to the UV component of sunlight. This effect is exacerbated in the presence of fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs), which are often applied to textiles to improve product brightness. Tryptophan photoproducts have been identified as significant contributors to protein photoyellowing; however, the role of non-tryptophan-derived chromophores is less clear.

The photoyellowing of stilbene-derived fluorescent whitening agents--mass spectrometric characterization of yellow photoproducts.

The application of fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) significantly accelerates the photoyellowing of wool and silk under exposure to the ultraviolet and visible components of sunlight <500 nm. The photochemistry involved in this process is poorly understood, particularly the role of photoproducts derived directly from the FWA itself. Hydroxylation was identified as the key initial mechanism of photodegradation leading to coloration of the solution in the irradiation of the stilbene-derived FWA 4,4'-bis(2-sulfostyryl)biphenyl (DSBP) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).