PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

W L Peticolas

Publications and source records attributed to W L Peticolas.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

Statistical mechanical analysis of Raman spectroscopic order parameter changes in pressure-induced lipid bilayer phase transitions.

The statistical mechanical cluster theory of Fisher as applied by Kanehisa and Tsong to phospholipid bilayers is modified to describe the effects of hydrostatic pressure on the state of an aqueous dispersion of the phospholipid dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine. A high pressure Raman scattering cell has been built to obtain the Raman spectra of aqueous dispersions of phospholipids as a function of the applied hydrostatic pressure from 0 to 100 atmospheres. Predicted thermal and pressure-induced phase transitions are compared with an experimentally obtained Raman order parameter derived from the ratio of two bands in the C-H stretching region of the Raman spectrum of the sample. The parameters of the theory are adjusted to obtain a satisfactory fit of the Raman order parameter versus temperature. The theory is then found to give an excellent prediction of the observed pressure dependence of the Raman order parameter with no changes in the adjustable parameters. The implications of the success of the theoretical fit is discussed. Particularly of interest is the rather high value of the critical temperature, Tc, for lipid bilayers which is predicted by the model.

Hydrostatic Pressure↗
PubMed1979

Ultraviolet and laser Raman investigation of the buried tyrosines in fd phage.

The tyrosines of the filamentous phage fd have been found to be inaccessible to solvent by pH titration while monitoring the ultraviolet spectrum or the laser Raman spectrum. The uv spectra suggest that the tyrosines do not become deprotonated unless the phage becomes disrupted. One possible explanation of the Raman spectra is that the tyrosine OH groups are the recipients of hydrogen-bonded protons arising from fairly acidic donors, yet these acidic donors do not become titrated over the pH 7 to 12 range.

Coliphages↗
PubMed1979

Laser Raman studies of lipid disordering by the B-protein of fd phage.

Complexes of the B-protein of fd phage with the model lipid dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) were made by sonication of the fd phage in the presence of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine. Both laser Raman spectra and circular dichroism show the protein in the membrane to be almost entirely in the beta-sheet conformation. This beta-sheet conformation is found to be independent of the temperature between 10 degrees C and 50 degrees C. On the other hand, the protein has a very dramatic effect on the organization of the lipid bilayer. An aqueous dispersion of 1 : 1 lipid/protein mixture gives a broad conformational transition of DPPC which occurs between 10 degrees C and 30 degrees C. This contrasts markedly with simple aqueous DPPC dispersions which show a sharp transition at 41 degrees C. This appears to be the first reported example of the lowering of the conformational transition of a membrane bilayer by an intrinsic membrane protein.

Coliphages↗
PubMed1978

Conformational nonequivalence of chains 1 and 2 of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine as observed by Raman spectroscopy.

Raman spectroscopic data indicate that the conformations of the two hydrocarbon chains of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine in aqueous dispersions of the lipid differ signficantly. The compounds 1-palmitoyl, 2-palmitoyl-d31-3-sn-phosphatidylcholine and 1-palmitoyl-d31, 2-palmitoyl-3-sn-phosphatidylcholine were synthesized. Aqueous dispersions of these phospholipids display very similar phase behavior, with both premelting and melting transitions at nearly identical temperatures, midway between the comparable transition temperatures of undeuterated and completely deuterated dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine. We have monitored the state of chains 1 and 2 of these molecules simultaneously and independently by Raman spectroscopy. Raman difference spectra taken between samples of the two compounds under identical conditions show significant features. We attribute these spectral differences to nonequivalent conformations of the fatty acyl chains attached at positions 1 and 2 on the glycerol backbone. Below the pretransition the conformation of chain 2 is, on average, slightly less all-trans than is the chain at position 1. There is some evidence that the conformations of the terminal methyl group of the two chains are significantly different at low temperatures.

Calorimetry, Differential Scanning↗
PubMed1978

Laser Raman light-scattering observations of conformational changes in myosin induced by inorganic salts.

The Raman spectra of aqueous solutions of myosin and mixtures of myosin in solutions of the salts CaCl(2), MgCl(2), and LiBr have been taken. The spectrum of the solvent background has been subtracted by means of a computer, leaving only the Raman peaks of the protein. From an analysis of the Raman bands in the regions at 900, 940, 1,240-1,300, and 1,650-1,670 cm(-1), it seems likely that CaCl(2) effects an alpha-to beta-transition in myosin, probably owing to the interaction of the Ca(2+) ion, LiBr appears to denature the protein leading to increased random coil structure, and MgCl(2) appears to have an effect intermediate between the two other salts. These results are reported for concentrations as low as 10(-5) M of CaCl(2) and MgCl(2).This investigation indicates the usefulness of the Raman light-scattering technique for the study of protein conformational changes.

Calcium Chloride↗
PubMed1978

Deuterated phospholipids as nonperturbing components for Raman studies of biomembranes.

The deuterated phospholipid, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-d62-phosphatidylcholine is shown by Raman spectroscopic measurements to be useful for obtaining information concerning phospholipid conformation in complex phospholipid and lipidprotein mixtures. The Raman bands of the deuterated phospholipid are assigned, and the sensitivity of these vibrational modes to conformational changes in the bilayer is demonstrated. Deuteration of the alkyl chains reveals the CH vibrations of the head group. A change in these bands is observed at the melting temperature and is assigned to alteration of the glycerol backbone conformation upon melting.

Calorimetry, Differential Scanning↗
PubMed1978

Interpretation of biomembrane structure by Raman difference spectroscopy. Nature of the endothermic transitions in phosphatidylcholines.

Raman difference spectroscopy has been applied to aqueous dispersions of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC). Difference spectra have been created by computer subtraction of absolute Raman spectra taken in each of three different temperature ranges: below the endothermic pretransition at 34 +/- 2 degrees C; between this temperature and the melting transition at 42 degrees C; and above the melting temperature. The resultant difference spectra are both quantitatively and qualitatively different, indicating that a distinct phospholipid conformation occurs in each of the three temperature ranges. Furthermore, the difference spectra show details of Raman spectral changes with greater clarity than is possible with conventional Raman techniques. A description of the lateral interchain order and the longitudinal chain order is given for each of the three temperature ranges. In addition to obtaining a more precise quantitative measurement of the changes in the Raman spectra, we observed some significant and previously unreported changes. It is suggested that distortion in the hexagonal lattice below the pretransition temperature previously reported by X-ray diffraction techniques may be responsible for interchain interactions which give rise to a Raman band observed only in the triclinic lattice of even-numbered n-alkanes.

Liposomes↗
PubMed1977

On the quantitative interpretation of biomembrane structure by Raman spectroscopy.

The now well-established use of Raman spectroscopy to examine the structure of biomembranes is extended through an examination of the origins of the structure-sensitive features of phospholipid spectra and the development of quantitative order-parameters. One parameter gives a quantitative measure of the fraction of all-trans bonds in the hydrocarbon chains while the other provides a semiquantitative estimate of the lateral crystal-like order between the chains. The parameters are used to study the differences between vesicles and dispersions of dipalmitoyl phosphotidylcholine, dimyristoylcholine and egg lecithin. We find that the vesicles of dipalmitoyl phosphotidylcholine are substantially less ordered than the dispersions in terms of both longitudinal and lateral order which are greatly decreased. A very careful measurement of the order as a function of temperature shows that there is a pre-melting transition in the dispersions of dipalmitoyl phosphotidylcholine which does not exist in the vesicles. Remarkable agreement is obtained between the Raman technique and that previously reported by calorimetric measurements and theoretical calculations.

1,2-Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine↗
PubMed1977

Ultraviolet resonant Raman spectroscopy of nucleic acid components.

The first resonant Raman excitation profile using UV as well as visible radiation is presented. Measurements of the intensity of the Raman spectrum of adenosine 5'-monophosphate as a function of the frequency of the incident laser light are presented in the range from 20 to 38 kK (1000 cm-1). The scattering intensity per molecule increases by about 10(5) as the laser is tuned from low to high frequencies. The Raman excitation profile has been calculated by using a simple form of the vibronic theory of Raman scattering. The theoretical curves are found to adequately fit the data using only the frequencies of the excited electronic states of AMP and their corresponding vibronic linewidths as adjustable parameters. The Raman bands at 1484 cm-1 and 1583 cm-1 appear to obtain virtually all of their intensity from a weak electronic transition at 276 nm. The set of Raman bands in the range 1300 cm-1-1400 cm-1 appear to derive at least part of their intensity from an electronic band whose 0-0 transition is in the 269-259 nm region although the possibility of some intensity arising from the vibronic mixing between these two electronic states cannot as yet be ruled out.

Adenosine Monophosphate↗
PubMed1976

Detection of the sites of alkylation in DNA and polynucleotides by laser Raman spectroscopy.

A laser Raman study of the alkylation of calf thymus DNA, poly(dG)-poly(dC) and poly(dA)-(dT) has been made using two water soluble alkylating agents: an antitumor drug, the difunctional methyl nitrogen mustard (HN2), which froms interstrand cross-links, and the dimethyl nitrogen half mustard (HN1). When an excess of the alkylating agent was used, the observed Raman frequencies due to the guanine ring modes in DNA and poly(dG)-poly(dC) changed virtually quantitatively to those of 7-methylguanosine (7-Me-Guo) showing that essentially all of the guanine bases were alkylated in the N-7 position. Furthermore, this alkylated DNA formed a stable double helical complex at neutral pH in which the alkylated guanine residues are in the keto form. No changes in the Raman bands of any of the other bases were observed in alkylated DNA. The DNA double helix, completely alkylated in at the N-7 position of guanine, melts about 35 degrees C below that of the native DNA. Upon melting, the alkylated guanine changes from the keto to the zwitterionic form.

Alkylation↗
PubMed1976

Effect of cross-linking on the secondary structure of DNA I. Cross-linking by photodimerization.

An investigation has been made into the effect produced by photo-induced pyrimidine cross-links upon the secondary structure of DNA. We have studied the effect of uv irradiation upon the B in equilibrium A transition in DNA brought about by a change of solvent from 70 to 80% ethanol. Circular dichroism (CD) was used to monitor the conformational changes. However, we first showed by means of laser Raman spectroscopy that CD is a reliable monitor of the conformational change, even though the DNA is aggregated in 80% alcohol solutions. It is suggested that this aggregation stabilizes the A form through lateral interaction between the helices. The uv irradiation experiments show that pyrimidine-dimer cross-links induced into the B-form DNA will lock it irreversibly into that conformation and prevent it from going to the A form in 80% EtOH solution. The A-form DNA can tolerate a few cross-links but converts cooperatively to the B form if a larger number of cross-links is introduced. Irradiation-induced pyrimidine cross-links create locally denatured regions in B-form DNA. Upon continued irradiation, the entire DNA moelcule becomes denatured.

Binding Sites↗