Using conducting probe atomic force microscopy (CAFM), we show that electrical conductivity in oligothiophene molecular films deposited on SiO(2)/Si wafers is extremely sensitive to degree of crystalline order in the film. By locally distorting the molecular order in the films through the controlled application of pressure with the AFM tip, the lateral charge transport was reduced by factors varying from 2 to 10, even when no changes in the height of the film could be observed.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/la303609g | DOI Listing |
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Institute of Science and Technology Austria, AT-3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.
Biophysical constraints limit the specificity with which transcription factors (TFs) can target regulatory DNA. While individual nontarget binding events may be low affinity, the sheer number of such interactions could present a challenge for gene regulation by degrading its precision or possibly leading to an erroneous induction state. Chromatin can prevent nontarget binding by rendering DNA physically inaccessible to TFs, at the cost of energy-consuming remodeling orchestrated by pioneer factors (PFs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210.
The homo-dodecameric ring-shaped RNA binding attenuation protein (TRAP) from binds up to twelve tryptophan ligands (Trp) and becomes activated to bind a specific sequence in the 5' leader region of the operon mRNA, thereby downregulating biosynthesis of Trp. Thermodynamic measurements of Trp binding have revealed a range of cooperative behavior for different TRAP variants, even if the averaged apparent affinities for Trp have been found to be similar. Proximity between the ligand binding sites, and the ligand-coupled disorder-to-order transition has implicated nearest-neighbor interactions in cooperativity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
January 2025
Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan.
High-performance and cost-effective hole-collecting materials (HCMs) are indispensable for commercially viable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, we report an anchorable HCM composed of a triazatruxene core connected with three alkyl carboxylic acid groups (). In contrast to the phosphonic acid-containing tripodal analog (), molecules can form a hydrophilic monolayer on a transparent conducting oxide surface, which is beneficial for subsequent perovskite film deposition in the traditional layer-by-layer fabrication process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) models trained on natural protein sequences have been used to design functional enzymes. However, their ability to predict individual reaction steps in enzyme catalysis remains unclear, limiting the potential use of sequence information for enzyme engineering. In this study, we demonstrated that sequence information can predict the rate of the S2 step of a haloalkane dehalogenase using a generative maximum-entropy (MaxEnt) model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Physiol Endocrinol Metab
January 2025
The August Krogh Section for Molecular Physiology, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Erythropoietin (EPO) is pivotal in regulating red blood cell (erythrocyte) concentrations and is primarily synthesized in the kidney. Recent research has unveiled a possible link between elevated circulating concentrations of ketone bodies (KB) and circulating EPO concentrations, however, it is not known whether nutritionally induced endogenous ketogenesis can be a stimulus to induce EPO in humans. Therefore, this study aimed to assess whether acute and chronic intake of medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA)-containing triacylglycerol (MCT), which rapidly enhances endogenous circulating KB, would elevate circulating EPO concentrations in humans, as indicated by prior work with exogenous KB administration.
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