Cholesterol Conformational Structures in Phospholipid Membranes.

Cholesterol is a major component of biomembranes that impacts membrane order, permeability, and lateral organization, but the precise molecular mechanisms of cholesterol's actions are still under investigation. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have opened the fingerprint vibration bands of large molecules to detailed spectral analysis. For cholesterol, Raman spectral interpretation for conformational structure and hydrogen bonding is now possible.

Subcutaneous adipose tissue: Implications in dermatological diseases and beyond.

Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) is the deepest component of the three-layered cutaneous integument. While mesenteric adipose tissue-based immune processes have gained recognition in the context of the metabolic syndrome, SAT has been traditionally considered primarily for energy storage, with less attention to its immune functions. SAT harbors a reservoir of immune and stromal cells that significantly impact metabolic and immunologic processes not only in the skin, but even on a systemic level.

Advancements in biotransformation pathway prediction: enhancements, datasets, and novel functionalities in enviPath.

enviPath is a widely used database and prediction system for microbial biotransformation pathways of primarily xenobiotic compounds. Data and prediction system are freely available both via a web interface and a public REST API. Since its initial release in 2016, we extended the data available in enviPath and improved the performance of the prediction system and usability of the overall system.

Monodispersed mesoscopic star-shaped gold particles via silver-ion-assisted multi-directional growth for highly sensitive SERS-active substrates.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) exploits localized surface plasmon resonances in metallic nanostructures to significantly amplify Raman signals and perform ultrasensitive analyses. A critical factor for SERS-based analysis systems is the formation of numerous electromagnetic hot spots within the nanostructures, which represent regions with highly concentrated fields emerging from excited localized surface plasmons. These intense hotspot fields can amplify the Raman signal by several orders of magnitude, facilitating analyte detection at extremely low concentrations and highly sensitive molecular identification at the single-nanoparticle level.