Effective interactions and phase behavior of protein solutions in the presence of hexamine cobalt(III) chloride.

It is well established that deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) exhibit a reentrant condensation (RC) phase behavior in the presence of the trivalent hexamine cobalt(III) cations (Hac) which can be important for their packing and folding. A similar behavior can be observed for negatively charged globular proteins in the presence of trivalent metal cations, such as Y or La. This phase behavior is mainly driven by charge inversion upon an increasing salt concentration for a fixed protein concentration (c).

An alternative approach to the osmotic second virial coefficient of protein solutions and its application to liquid-liquid phase separation.

The osmotic second virial coefficient B2 is an important parameter to describe the interactions and phase behavior of protein solutions, including colloidal systems and macromolecular solutions. Another key parameter to describe the driving force of the nucleation of a new phase is the supersaturation, which is used in the classical nucleation theory framework and is connected with the favorable contribution in the Gibbs free energy in the bulk solution. In this article, we establish a connection between B2 calculated from small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) data and the values of B2 obtained from supersaturation measurements using thermodynamics considerations.

Pathogen spectra in hospitalised and nonhospitalised children with community-acquired pneumonia.

Background: Paediatric community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of paediatric morbidity. However, particularly for outpatients with paediatric CAP, data on aetiology and management are scarce.

Methods: The prospective pedCAPNETZ study multicentrically enrols children and adolescents with outpatient-treated or hospitalised paediatric CAP in Germany.

Structural Insights into Polymer-Bounded Lipid Nanodiscs.

Membrane proteins are an essential part of signaling and transport processes and are targeted by multiple drugs. To isolate and investigate them in their native state, polymer-bounded nanodiscs have become valuable tools. In this study, we investigate the lipid model system dimyristoyl-phosphocholine (DMPC) with the nanodisc-forming copolymers styrene maleic acid (SMA) and diisobutylene maleic acid (DIBMA).

Molecular Flexibility of Antibodies Preserved Even in the Dense Phase after Macroscopic Phase Separation.

Antibody therapies are typically based on high-concentration formulations that need to be administered subcutaneously. These conditions induce several challenges, inter alia a viscosity suitable for injection, sufficient solution stability, and preservation of molecular function. To obtain systematic insights into the molecular factors, we study the dynamics on the molecular level under strongly varying solution conditions.

Bulk phase behaviour vs interface adsorption: Effects of anions and isotopes on β-lactoglobulin (BLG) interactions.

Hypothesis: Protein adsorption is highly relevant in numerous applications ranging from food processing to medical implants. In this context, it is important to gain a deeper understanding of protein-protein and protein-surface interactions. Thus, the focus of this investigation is on the interplay of bulk properties and surface properties on protein adsorption.