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PubMed2024

Phase Transition of Wax Enabling CRISPR Diagnostics for Automatic At-Home Testing of Multiple Sexually Transmitted Infection Pathogens.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) significantly impact women's reproductive health. Rapid, sensitive, and affordable detection of these pathogens is essential, especially for home-based self-testing, which is crucial for individuals who prioritize privacy or live in areas with limited access to healthcare services. Herein, an automated diagnostic system called Wax-CRISPR has been designed specifically for at-home testing of multiple STIs. This system employs a unique strategy by using the solid-to-liquid phase transition of wax to sequentially isolate and mix recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and CRISPR assays in a microfluidic chip. By incorporating a home-built controlling system, Wax-CRISPR achieves true one-pot multiplexed detection. The system can simultaneously detect six common critical gynecological pathogens (CT, MG, UU, NG, HPV 16, and HPV 18) within 30 min, with a detection limit reaching 10-18 M. Clinical evaluation demonstrates that the system achieves a sensitivity of 96.8% and a specificity of 97.3% across 100 clinical samples. Importantly, eight randomly recruited untrained operators performe a double-blinded test and successfully identified the STI targets in 33 clinical samples. This wax-transition-based one-pot CRISPR assay offers advantages such as low-cost, high-stability, and user-friendliness, making it a useful platform for at-home or field-based testing of multiple pathogen infections.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases↗

PubMed2007

Spontaneous formation of fractal structures on triglyceride surfaces with reference to their super water-repellent properties.

Alkylketene dimer (AKD), a kind of wax, has been known to form fractal surfaces spontaneously and show super water-repellency. Such formation of water-repellent and fractal surfaces was also found in this work for triglycerides. Since the crystal phase transitions of these waxes were well studied, we studied the formation of their fractal surfaces through contact angle measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). From time-dependent contact angle measurements, it was found that the formation of super water-repellent surfaces with fractal structures occurred spontaneously also on the triglyceride surfaces at different temperatures. The freshly solidified triglyceride surfaces were almost transparent, and their initial contact angles of water were close to 110 degrees. The surfaces then became rough and clouded after being incubated for a certain time at a specified temperature. The super water-repellent surfaces were quite rough and showed fractal structures with the dimension of ca. 2.2 calculated from the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images by the box-counting method. The phase transformation from a metastable state to a stable cystalline one after the solidification from the melt of triglycerides was clearly observed by DSC and XRD measurements. The fractal crystalline structures and the super water-repellency resulted from this phase transformation and the crystal growth. Ensuring the initial sample solidified into the metastable state and curing the surface at an appropriate temperature are key factors for the successful preparation of fractal triglyceride surfaces by the solidification method.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Critical processing factors affecting rheological behavior of a wax based formulation.

The use of a wax-based vehicle is one approach to stabilize a drug which is susceptible to hydrolysis and/or oxidation. The drug used in the study, as a microfine powder, is dispersed in the wax mixture and encapsulated in a soft gelatin capsule. To ensure reproducibility of drug content uniformity and encapsulability of the soft gelatin capsule dosage form, optimal viscosity and lot to lot uniformity of the viscosity of the suspension are required. The objective of the study was to identify the critical processing factors which could affect the rheological behavior of the wax based vehicle. Rheological behavior of the vehicle at temperatures ranging from 15 to 90 degrees C was evaluated using a CSL Rheometer equipped with parallel plates and a shear rate sweep mode, unless otherwise specified. Viscosity vs. temperature profiles of the vehicle were determined using the same conditions at different cooling rates ranging from 1.3 to 20 degrees C per min. Three distinct regions of phase transition of the wax mixture can be seen in the Arrhenius plot: (i) a sol region at temperatures above 50 degrees C, (ii) a transition of gel to sol at temperatures ranging from 30 to 45 degrees C, and (iii) a gel region at temperatures below 30 degrees C. The vehicle in a sol region behaved as a Newtonian fluid, indicating minimal interactions between the hydrocarbon chains of the vehicle. The vehicle in a gel region behaved thixotropic in nature, as indicated by a hysteresis loop. The shear rate had a more pronounced effect on the area of thixotropy than the shear time. The cooling rate had a pronounced effect on the resultant viscosity. At the same applied shear rate, the vehicle which was cooled at a faster rate, may cause a recrystallization of the wax mixture in different crystalline forms, resulting in a higher viscosity than the vehicle cooled at a slower rate. This effect was more pronounced when the shear was applied at a lower rate. The results of this study indicate that shear rate and cooling rate are the critical processing factors in controlling the viscosity of the final product and must be well controlled in the manufacturing procedure.

Calorimetry, Differential Scanning↗

PubMed1977

[Rheological studies on deformation for dental waxes. 2. Stress relaxation behavior of inlay wax (author's transl)].

The rheological properties of inlay wax were investigated by experiment of stress relaxation, thermal expansion, thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction. The results obtained were as follows. The solid-solid phase transition caused by phase transition of paraffin was observed. The stress relaxation curves of inlay wax were obtained at various temperature, and from these curves the stress relaxation master curve was composed by application of time-temperature superposition principle. The temperature dependence of sift factor was devided into two regions of Arrhenius type, and the activation energy was about 60 kcal/mol at the temperature lower than 23 degrees C and 120 kcal/mol at higher temperature. This fact suggests that the relaxation mechanism of inlay wax can be classified into two different modes. The relaxation mechanism at lower temperature region is explained by crystalline relaxation, and at higher temperature is considered to depend upon the solid-solid phase transition process of inlay wax. Calculating from the activation energy, for each 2 degrees C rise in temperature, the rate of rheological change for inlay wax is approximately two-fold at lower temperature region, and about four-fold at higher temperature region.

Elasticity↗

PubMed2006

Fabrication of a duplicate denture using visible light-polymerized resin as an interim denture base.

This article describes a technique for producing a duplicate denture using a visible light-polymerized (VLP) denture base for support prior to processing. A 2-part mold of the original denture was made, and then a sheet of VLP resin was reduced to a thickness of 0.5 mm and adapted to the fitting surface of the mold to create a denture base. The base was polymerized and the remaining features, such as the teeth and polished surfaces of the denture, were reproduced in wax. This technique may be helpful when performing subsequent clinical and laboratory procedures.

Acrylic Resins↗

PubMed1980

[Viscoelastic behaviour of inlay waxes (part 1). Physical and dynamic viscoelastic properties of several raw material waxes (author's transl)].

Several raw material waxes used in the inlay waxes, such as paraffins, carnauba wax, beeswax and dammar were investigated by measurements of X-ray diffraction, dilatometry, differential thermal analysis and dynamic viscoelasticity. The relationships between the viscoelastic behaviour and the physical properties of these waxes were discussed. The solid-solid phase transition from orthorhombic to hexagonal occurred in paraffins and the difference of the crystal transition temperature was observed between the kinds of paraffins. The viscoelastic properties and the thermal expansion of paraffins changed considerably in the crystal transition temperature region. Carnauba wax was an orthorhombic material, but such a crystal transition as paraffins did not appear. The dynamic modules of carnauba wax was greater than that of paraffin and decreased slowly to 70 degrees C and the loss tangent was small in this region. It was found, therefore, that carnauba wax had an elastic property in the crystal transition region of paraffin. Beeswax was also an orthorhombic material. The dynamic modulus of this was smallest in these waxes and the loss tangent increased relatively slowly with increases in temperature. Dammar was an amorphous solid. The dynamic modulus and the loss tangent were approximately constant in the low temperature region and changed greatly in the glass transition region. The thermal expansion of dammar was smallest in these waxes.

Bees↗

PubMed1996

A combined SAXS/WAXS investigation of the phase behaviour of di-polyenoic membrane lipids.

Real-time measurements of the SAXS/WAXS diffraction patterns of aqueous dispersions (1:1 wt/wt) of the di-polyenoic lipids di-18:2 PC, di-18:3 PC, di-18:2 PE and di-18:3 PE were made over the temperature range 10 degrees to about -80 degrees C. The results of these measurements were compared to similar measurements performed on the corresponding di-18:0 and di-18:1 derivatives. SAXS measurements of the temperature dependence of lamellar repeat distances show that the di-polyenoic lipids undergo broad second-order transitions between their gel and liquid-crystal lamellar phases spanning 30-40 degrees C. The di-18:1 and di-18:0 derivatives, in contrast, undergo abrupt first-order transitions. The gel phases of the di-18:0 derivatives are characterised by two-component WAXS patterns with a sharp component close to 0.42 nm and a broader component at narrower spacings. On cooling, these lipids appear to undergo an initial transition to an L beta, phase followed by a conversion to an Lc phase. The gel phases of the di-18:1 derivatives also show two-component patterns but with the sharp component centred closer to 0.44 nm. The di-polyenoic lipids, in contrast, are characterised by a single broad peak centred at a spacing of about 0.42 nm, close to that of conventional L beta phases. The changes in lamellar repeat distance accompanying the transitions in the di-monoenoic and di-polyenoic lipids, all of which occur in the frozen state, are very similar, indicating that the acyl chains of the polyenoic lipids are close to their maximum extension in the gel state. The WAXS patterns of the polyenoic lipids suggest that the saturated upper parts of the acyl chains are packed on a regular hexagonal lattice while their polyunsaturated termini remain relatively disordered.

Membrane Lipids↗

PubMed1981

Mechanism of the anisotropic dimensional change of the wax pattern prepared by the softened wax technique. (1) Relationship between recovery and crystal orientation.

In order to obtain information on the behavior of wax pattern distortion and to reveal its mechanism, the following experiments have been conducted: measurements of fundamental properties including distribution of molecular weight, crystal structure, phase transition, and viscosity, and investigation of the crystal orientation and recovery phenomena. If the wax is deformed plastically at higher temperatures, transformation appears to be a smooth transition from an isotropic distribution of the crystal orientation to an arranged structure. In the case of uniaxial compression, the c-axes are rearranged parallel to the compressed direction and the b-axes and a-axes are randomly oriented in the plane normal to the c-axes. This preferred orientation is due to the crystal rotation. The degree of preferred orientation increases with the increase in compression ratio over all temperatures between 35 degrees C and 55 degrees C. Above 45 degrees C, the degree of orientation decreases with an increase in temperature despite the equal compression ratio. From this fact, the degree of orientation is associated with the crystallinity at deformation temperatures as well as the degree of deformation. The preferentially oriented specimen expands greatly in the direction parallel to the molecular chain axis and shrinks to a great extent in the direction perpendicular to the chain axis. This anisotropy is caused mainly by the recovery. Moreover, the extent of recovery is associated closely with the degree of the preferred orientation. The dimensional change due to the recovery is extraordinarily large (30 to 40%) in comparison with the normal thermal expansion from room temperature to 45 degrees C (approximately 1.2%). This large extent of recovery is explained by the rubber-like deformation in the amorphous region.

Crystallization↗

PubMed2002

Cubic phase is induced by cholesterol in the dispersion of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine.

The effect of cholesterol, a major constituent of eukaryotic cell membranes, on the structure and thermotropic phase behaviour of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (POPE) dispersed in excess water was examined by synchrotron X-ray diffraction methods. Temperature scans over the range 10-75 degrees C showed that the gel to liquid-crystalline phase transition decreased from 25 to 10 degrees C in the presence of 20 mol% cholesterol, and no gel phase could be detected in the wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) intensity profile of mixtures containing 35 mol% cholesterol. The small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) intensity profiles showed that the lamellar to nonlamellar phase transition temperature was also decreased in mixtures containing up to 30 mol% cholesterol but the trend was reversed in mixtures containing a higher proportion of cholesterol. There was evidence that the transition of the lamellar liquid-crystal phase is to cubic phases in mixtures containing less than 30 mol% cholesterol. The space group of one of these cubic phases was assigned as Pn3m. This effect of cholesterol on non-bilayer-forming phospholipids is considered in the context of the role of cholesterol in membrane organization and function.

Cholesterol↗

PubMed1983

Continuous correlation between brain activities.

In free-behaving cats, bearing chronically implanted electrodes, the cross-correlation coefficients between EEG, EMG and unit activity in the Lateral Geniculate nucleus (LGU) have been computed continuously at 1 sec interval for epochs of several minutes, in the three basic physiological states: slow wave synchronized sleep (S-sleep), REM-sleep and Arousal. The coefficients exhibit continuous and aperiodic oscillations between high positive and high negative values. The means of the coefficients for each pair of variables exhibit significant differences between the three states. The phase times also are varying significantly for each variable pair in different states. During the transition from one state to another the coefficients follow characteristic time patterns. In the stationary phase of the different physiological states the correlation coefficients follow similar waxing and waning patterns. Embedded in the steady waxing and wanings of the coefficients are frequently found r time patterns similar to those of a state transition: the incomplete and sham transitions. All the results support the hypothesis that the diffuse projecting systems are inducing a continuous pressure to change the state of the brain activity, which is revealed by the changing of the correlations between the different brain structures.

Animals↗

PubMed1995

Functional mapping of the early stages of status epilepticus: a 14C-2-deoxyglucose study in the lithium-pilocarpine model in rat.

Continuous convulsive activity in status epilepticus generally does not occur suddenly in response to the inciting epileptogenic agent, but is rather the culmination of a stereotyped sequence of stages. Initially seizures are discrete, then undergo waxing-and-waning of convulsive/electroencephalographic severity. Following a transitional EEG-recorded fast-and-slow spiking phase, continuous fast spiking with invariant convulsive behavior ensues. We sought to map the seizure anatomic substrates corresponding to these stages, utilizing the 14C-2-deoxyglucose technique, in order to make inferences about underlying mechanisms. The lithium-pilocarpine status epilepticus model in rat was employed. Cerebral autoradiographs associated with discrete seizures revealed non-uniform cerebral metabolic activation, with rostral cortical and olfactory areas especially involved. Portions of basal ganglia were also activated, consistent with projections from seizure-activated areas. Successive stages of status entry displayed additional limbic and cortical activation, along with subcortical projection sites, so that by fast-and-slow spiking most forebrain areas were recruited. Based on these results, a model is proposed whereby cyclical seizure-attenuating mechanisms cause, in the initial stages of status entry, fluxing of seizure anatomic extents between small and large cerebral domains, with corresponding cycling of convulsive severity. In the later stages of status entry, these mechanisms become ineffective, resulting in steady-state maximal forebrain recruitment, associated with continuous and invariant convulsive behavior and electrographic fast spiking.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Glossy15 Controls the Epidermal Juvenile-to-Adult Phase Transition in Maize.

Loss-of-function mutations at the maize Glossy15 (Gl15) locus alter the normal transition from juvenile-to-adult growth by conditioning the abbreviated expression of juvenile epidermal cell traits and the coordinate precocious expression of adult epidermal cell features. These include epicuticular wax composition, cell wall characteristics, and the presence or absence of differentiated epidermal cell types (e.g., epidermal macrohairs and bulliform cells). A transposon-induced mutable allele of Glossy15 (gl15-m1) was isolated and employed in both phenotypic and genetic analyses to characterize the role of Gl15 in the maize juvenile-to-adult phase transition. Comparisons between Gl15-active and Gl15-inactive somatic sectors in the leaves of variegated plants demonstrated that the Gl15 gene product acts in a cell-autonomous manner to direct juvenile epidermal differentiation but does not affect factors that regulate the overall process of phase change. Examination of the gl15-m1 phenotype in the Corngrass1, Teopod1, and Teopod2 mutant backgrounds showed that the prolonged expression of juvenile epidermal traits associated with these mutations also required Gl15 activity. These results support a model whereby the cell-autonomous Gl15 gene product responds to a juvenility program that operates throughout the vegetative shoot to condition the juvenile differentiation of maize leaf epidermal cells.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1996

Glossy15, an APETALA2-like gene from maize that regulates leaf epidermal cell identity.

Vegetative development in many plants progresses through distinct juvenile and adult phases. In maize, the transition from juvenile to adult shoot development affects a variety of leaf epidermal cell traits. These include epicuticular waxes, leaf hairs, and cell wall characteristics. Previous genetic and phenotypic analyses have shown that the maize Glossy15 (Gl15) gene is required for the expression of juvenile epidermal traits after leaf 2. We report here the molecular cloning of the Gl15 gene using a defective Suppressor-Mutator (dSpm) element insertion as a transposon-tag. Consistent with the gl15 mutant phenotype, the pattern of Gl15 mRNA expression was correlated with a juvenile leaf epidermal cell identity and was regulated by upstream factors such as Corngrass1. The Gl15 gene encodes a putative transcription factor with significant sequence similarity to the Arabidopsis regulatory genes APETALA2 and AINTEGUMENTA, which act primarily to regulate floral organ identity and ovule development. This finding expands the known functions of APETALA2-related genes to include the control of both vegetative and reproductive lateral organ identity and provides molecular support for the hypothesis that leaves and floral organs are related structures derived from a common growth plan.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

Efficient photochemical decomposition of long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids by means of an aqueous/liquid CO2 biphasic system.

Photochemical decomposition of persistent and bioaccumulative long-chain (C9-C11) perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) with persulfate ion (S2O8(2-)) in an aqueous/liquid CO2 biphasic system was examined to develop a technique to neutralize stationary sources of the long-chain PFCAs. The long-chain PFCAs, namely, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUA), which are used as emulsifying agents and as surface treatment agents in industry, are relatively insoluble in water but are soluble in liquid CO2; therefore, introduction of liquid CO2 to the aqueous photoreaction system reduces the interference of colloidal PFCA particles. When the biphasic system was used to decompose these PFCAs, the extent of reaction was 6.4-51 times as high as that achieved in the absence of CO2. In the biphasic system, PFNA, PFDA, and PFUA (33.5-33.6 micromol) in 25.0 mL of water were 100%, 100%, and 77.1% decomposed, respectively, after 12 h of irradiation with a 200-W xenon-mercury lamp; F- ions were produced as a major product, and short-chain PFCAs, which are less bioaccumulative than the original PFCAs, were minor products. All of the initial S2O8(2-) was transformed to SO42-. The system also efficiently decomposed PFCAs at lower concentrations (e.g., 4.28-16.7 micromol of PFDA in 25.0 mL) and was successfully applied to decompose PFNA in floor wax.

Carbon Dioxide↗

PubMed2001

Specific heat determination of plant barrier lipophilic components: biological implications.

The specific heat of isolated plant cuticles and their corresponding cuticular waxes have been measured for the physiological temperature in the range of 273-318 K at regular intervals. C(p) values ranged from 1.5 up to 4 J K(-1) g(-1) indicating a high cohesion, at the molecular level, of the molecular lipophilic components that constitute the plant cuticle. Second order phase transitions around 293 K, assigned to the cuticular matrix mainly constituted of the biopolyester cutin, have been detected and measured. Ecophysiological and physical implications of these thermodynamic data are discussed.

Biopolymers↗

PubMed2006

Two-dimensional heterospectral correlation analysis of wide-angle X-ray scattering and infrared spectroscopy for specific chemical interactions in weakly interacting block copolymers.

We investigated, via two-dimensional heterospectral correlation analysis of wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy, the specific chemical interactions existing in weakly interacting polystyrene-block-poly(n-pentyl methacrylate) copolymers (PS-PnPMA). PS-PnPMA was shown to exhibit a closed-loop-type phase behavior, where, upon heating, a lower disorder-to-order transition (LDOT) was found at lower temperatures, and an upper order-to-disorder transition (UODT) was observed at higher temperatures. The specific interaction between the PS and PnPMA blocks mainly arises from the dipole in the benzene ring of PS and the induced dipole in the PnPMA due to cluster formation with a size of 1 approximately 2 nm. We found that the synchronous 2D WAXS-IR heterospectral correlation spectrum of the ordered state was completely different from that in the two disordered states. The CH group of the main chains of PS and PnPMA did not contribute to the cluster formation in the two disordered states, indicating that the main chains of PS and PnPMA blocks were randomly distributed in the two disordered states. However, only the C=C group in the PS block contributed to the cluster at a disordered state below the LDOT, whereas both the C-C-O group in PnPMA and the entire phenyl ring and C=C group in PS contributed to cluster formation at another disordered state above the UODT. Thus, the probability that PS (and PnPMA) chains were located at their own neighboring chains at one disordered state above the UODT is larger than that at another disordered state below the LDOT.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2002

Thermotropic mesomorphism of a model system for the plant epicuticular wax layer.

As a model for the epicuticular wax layer of plant cuticular membranes, we have studied the phase behavior of 1-tetradecanol and 1-octadecanol and their binary mixtures between 5 and 70 degrees C, using differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Both pure compounds show two exothermic phase transitions corresponding to a transformation from a liquid phase to a hexagonally packed solid phase (S(HEX)), which at lower temperatures transforms to an orthorhombically-packed solid phase (S(ORT)). On heating the S(ORT) solid a single endothermic transition with a transition enthalpy corresponding to the sum of the exothermic transition enthalpies is obtained. These transitions were also followed using FTIR spectroscopy in the CH(2)-stretching (symmetric and asymmetric) and CH(2)-rocking vibration modes. The FTIR spectra of the pure compounds in the liquid, S(HEX), and S(ORT) phases were used to simulate experimental spectra in the phase transition regions. The simulations allowed us to estimate the molar fractions of each phase in the transition regions of the pure compounds. A phase diagram for the binary mixture of 1-tetradecanol and 1-octadecanol was obtained using differential scanning calorimetry and FTIR. FTIR studies on binary mixtures prepared from one perdeuterated component and the other nondeuterated permitted studying the thermotropic behavior of each component in the mixture independently. The mixture shows an eutectic behavior with an eutectic point between a molar fraction of octadecanol (X(18)) of 0.12 and 0.18 and a temperature of approximately 32 degrees C. Below 32 degrees C, a binary mixture of solid phases, one an S(ORT) phase and the other an S(HEX) phase, coexist up to approximately 25 degrees C, below which both solid phases are S(ORT) phases. We discuss the possible relevance of this complex phase behavior in a simple binary mixture of two long-chain alkanols in the context of the far more complex phase behavior expected for the plant epicuticular wax layer.

Calorimetry, Differential Scanning↗

PubMed2006

Competitive sorption-desorption behavior of triazine herbicides with plant cuticular fractions.

Sorption interactions of plant cuticular matter with organic compounds are not yet fully understood. The objective of this study was to examine the competitive sorption-desorption interactions of the triazine herbicides (atrazine and ametryn) with cuticular fractions isolated from tomato fruits and leaves of Agave americana. The 13C NMR data suggest a rubber-like nature for the cutin. This biopolymer exhibited reversible and noncompetitive sorption. Enhanced desorption of atrazine was recorded in the bi-solute system with bulk and dewaxed A. americana cuticles. 13C NMR analyses of these samples suggested that the sorbed competitor ametryn facilitated a physical phase transition of rigid paraffinic sorption domain to mobile and flexible domain during sorption process. We suggest that the different sorption-desorption behavior obtained for the two cuticles is related to the higher content of waxes (14% vs 2.6%) and lower content of cutin (46% vs 75%) in the A. americana versus tomato fruit cuticle.

Absorption↗