Biomedical subjects

I Sokolov

Publications and source records attributed to I Sokolov.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Visualization of cytoskeletal elements by the atomic force microscope.

We describe a novel application of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to directly visualize cytoskeletal fibers in human foreskin epithelial cells. The nonionic detergent Triton X-100 in a low concentration was used to remove the membrane, soluble proteins, and organelles from the cell. The remaining cytoskeleton can then be directly visualized in either liquid or air-dried ambient conditions. These two types of scanning provide complimentary information. Scanning in liquid visualizes the surface filaments of the cytoskeleton, whereas scanning in air shows both the surface filaments and the total "volume" of the cytoskeletal fibers. The smallest fibers observed were ca. 50 nm in diameter. The lateral resolution of this technique was ca.20 nm, which can be increased to a single nanometer level by choosing sharper AFM tips. Because the AFM is a true 3D technique, we are able to quantify the observed cytoskeleton by its density and volume. The types of fibers can be identified by their size, similar to electron microscopy.

Cells, Cultured↗

PubMed2004

Attosecond electron bunches.

Electron bunches of attosecond duration may coherently interact with laser beams. We show how p-polarized ultraintense laser pulses interacting with sharp boundaries of overdense plasmas can produce such bunches. Particle-in-cell simulations demonstrate attosecond bunch generation during pulse propagation through a thin channel or in the course of grazing incidence on a plasma layer. In the plasma, due to the self-intersection of electron trajectories, electron concentration is abruptly peaked. A group of counterstream electrons is pushed away from the plasma through nulls in the electromagnetic field, having inherited a peaked electron density distribution and forming relativistic ultrashort bunches in vacuum.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

Cell surface electrochemical heterogeneity of the Fe(III)-reducing bacteria Shewanella putrefaciens.

Acid-base titration experiments and electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) were used to investigate the cell surface electrochemical heterogeneity of the Fe(III)-reducing bacteria, Shewanella putrefaciens. The acid-base titrations extended from pH 4 to 10, and the titration data were fit using a linear programming pKa spectrum approach. Overall, a five-site model accounted for the observed titration behavior with the most acidic sites corresponding to carboxylic groups and phosphodiester groups, intermediate sites phosphoryl groups, and two basic sites equivalent to amine or hydroxyl groups. The pH for the point of zero charge on the bacteria was 5.4. In EFM images of cells rinsed in solutions at pH 4.0, 7.0, and 8.0, a pronounced increase in small (< or = 100 nm diameter) high contrast patches was observed on the cells with increasing pH. The pH dependence of EFM image contrast paralleled the pattern of cell surface charge development inferred from the titration experiments; however, quantitative analysis of high contrast regions in the EFM images yielded lower surface charge values than those anticipated from the titration data. For example at pH 7, the calculated surface charge of high contrast regions in EFM images of the bacterial cells was -0.23 microC/cm2 versus -20.0 microC/cm2 based on the titration curve. The differences in surface charge estimates between the EFM images and titration data are consistent not only with charge development throughout the entire volume of the bacterial cell wall (i.e., in association with functional groups that are not directly exposed at the cell surface) but also with the presence of a thin structural layer of water containing charge-compensating counterions. In combination, the pKa spectra and EFM data demonstrate that a particularly high degree of electrochemical heterogeneity exists within the cell wall and at the cell surface of S. putrefaciens.

Cell Membrane↗

PubMed1994

Accuracy of nine commercially available pulse oximeters in monitoring patients with chronic respiratory insufficiency.

9 pulse oximeters (BIOX-III, Nellcor 250, Jaeger CNS, Micro2), Pulsox-8, Oxycount, PulsOXImeter, PalcoLabs and Pulsox-7) were studied in 90 COPD patients. The transcutaneus oxygen saturation (SaO2%) was compared with arterial oxygen saturation calculated simultaneously with drawn blood samples (AVL-995). The measurement of error distribution and the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of measurement errors allows ranking of the pulse oximeters, which can be divided in 3 groups. We conclude that the accuracy of the tested nine pulse oximeter does not enable precise absolute measurements, specially at lower oxygen saturation ranges.

Airway Obstruction↗