Lateral diffusion, function, and expression of the slow channel congenital myasthenia syndrome αC418W nicotinic receptor mutation with changes in lipid raft components.

Lipid rafts, specialized membrane microdomains in the plasma membrane rich in cholesterol and sphingolipids, are hot spots for a number of important cellular processes. The novel nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) mutation αC418W, the first lipid-exposed mutation identified in a patient that causes slow channel congenital myasthenia syndrome was shown to be cholesterol-sensitive and to accumulate in microdomains rich in the membrane raft marker protein caveolin-1. The objective of this study is to gain insight into the mechanism by which lateral segregation into specialized raft membrane microdomains regulates the activable pool of nAChRs.

Generalizing thermodynamic properties of bulk single-walled carbon nanotubes.

The enthalpy and Gibbs free energy thermodynamical potentials of single walled carbon nanotubes were studied of all types (armchairs, zig-zags, chirals (), and chiral ()). Bulk values of these thermodynamic potentials were obtained using a previously demonstrated robust method based on semi-empirical PM3 calculations and an extrapolated cluster approach. Those values were used to study the relationship between the thermodynamic potentials and the diameter of the nanotube.

Combining geometrical and dynamical disorder to enhance transport.

We look for the optimal way to distribute rectifiers in order to maximize their effect on the transport properties of Brownian particles. These rectifiers are introduced in the form of flashing asymmetric potentials distributed on a one dimensional lattice. We study the effects that different distributions of these rectifiers have on the generated current and on the energy cost of transport.

Combined effect of periodic gates and external fields on the diffusion coefficient of a single particle.

A general analytical expression to describe the diffusion of a single particle in a one-dimensional lattice with periodically distributed gates of lifetime (tau) and while under the influence of a constant external field is calculated. A formulation based on a microscopic model and a diffusion relaxation condition is used to derive an equation for the diffusion coefficient as a function of the concentration of gates (c), the lifetime (tau) of such gates, and the strength of the external field (p). The theory is compared against Monte Carlo simulations, and limiting cases are used to reproduce previously published results on a variety of phenomena.

Engineering reactions in crystalline solids: predicting photochemical decarbonylation from calculated thermochemical parameters.

A detailed thermochemical analysis of the alpha-cleavage and decarbonylation reactions of acetone and several ketodiesters was carried out with the B3LYP/6-31G* density functional method. The heats of formation of several ground-state ketones and radicals were calculated at 298 K to determine bond dissociation energies (BDE) and radical stabilization energies (RSE) as a function of substituents. Results show that the radical-stabilizing abilities of the ketone substituents play a very important role on the thermodynamics of the alpha-cleavage and decarbonylation steps.