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Biomedical subjects

G Feher

Publications and source records attributed to G Feher.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Branched bimolecular lipid membranes.

Branched bimolecular lipid membranes separating three and four aqueous phases have been formed. The procedure is based on the technique of Montal and Mueller generalized to three and four lipid surface films spanning an appropriate aperture. The technique to produce Teflon structures for the mechanical support of branched bilayers is presented. The existence of the branched bilayer was established by measuring the specific capacity, specific resistance, and the gramicidin-induced single channel conductance of each branch. These structures should facilitate the study of transport properties of ionophores and other molecules and may also serve as model systems for the study of cell fusion.

Lipids↗

Determination of molecular weights by fluctuation spectroscopy: application to DNA.

A method for determining molecular weights of macromolecules by measuring spontaneous concentration fluctuations is described. The method is absolute, rapid, and requires no shearing forces on the molecules. We have applied this technique to the determination of molecular weight of DNA molecules. The molecular weight values obtained for T2 phage DNA (1.14 X 10(8)) and replicating Escherichia coli DNA (3.9 X 10(9)) agree with previous results. By monitoring individual molecules, an estimate of the molecular weight of nuclei and individual chromosomal DNA molecules of Drosophila melanogaster was obtained.

Animals↗

Primary acceptor in bacterial photosynthesis: obligatory role of ubiquinone in photoactive reaction centers of Rhodopseudomonas spheroides.

Reaction centers were found to bind two ubiquinones, both of which could be removed by o-phenanthroline and the detergent lauryldimethylamine oxide. One ubiquinone was more easily removed than the other. The low-temperature light-induced optical and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) changes were eliminated and restored upon removal and readdition of ubiquinone and were quantitatively correlated with the amount of tightly bound ubiquinone. We, therefore, conclude that this ubiquinone plays an obligatory role in the primary photochemistry. The easily removed ubiquinone is thought to be the secondary electron acceptor. The low-temperature charge recombination kinetics, as well as the optical and EPR spectra, were the same for untreated reaction centers and for those reconstituted with ubiquinone. This indicates that extraction and reconstitution were accomplished without altering the conformation of the active site. Reaction centers reconstituted with other quinones also showed restored photochemical activity, although they exhibited changes in their low-temperature recombination kinetics and light-induced (g = 1.8) EPR signal is interpreted in terms of a magnetically coupled ubiquinone--Fe2+ acceptor complex. A possible role of iron is to facilitate electron transfer between the primary and secondary ubiquinones.

Kinetics↗

Fluctuation spectroscopy: determination of chemical reaction kinetics from the frequency spectrum of fluctuations.

The kinetic parameters of a chemical reaction were obtained from analysis of the frequency spectrum of the fluctuations (i.e., "noise") in the concentrations of the reactants. In "fluctuation spectroscopy," no external perturbation is applied and the system remains in macroscopic chemical equilibrium during the experiment. Results obtained by this method for the dissociation reaction of beryllium sulfate agree well with those obtained by relaxation methods in which the approach to equilibrium is analyzed. Other noise sources not originating from a chemical reaction were observed and analyzed. The most prominent of these arose from the flow of an electrolyte through a capillary. The method of fluctuation spectroscopy should be applicable to problems of physical, chemical, and biological interest.

Journal Article↗