“
“The uniform-sized manganese oxide nanoparticles (the oleic-capped MnO NPs) were synthesized by the thermal decomposition of Mn-oleate complex and were transferred into water with the help of cationic surfactant of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), then the poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) membrane was further coated on to them with the aid of anionic dispersant

of poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS) by layer-by-layer electrostatic assembly to render them water soluble and biocompatible. They were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and MIT assay. In vitro cellular uptake test revealed the MnO@PVP AZD1480 clinical trial NPs were low cytotoxic, biocompatible and could be used as a T-1-positive contrast agent for passive targeting magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Interestingly,

signal enhancement in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) spaces in vivo experiment suggested that the MnO@PVP NPs can pass through the blood brain barrier (BBB). These results show that MnO@PVP Selleckchem NVP-HSP990 NPs are good candidates as MRI contrast agents with the lack of cytotoxicity and have great potential applications in magnetic nano-device and biomagnetic field.”
“The Amino acid-Polyamine-Organocation (APC) superfamily is the main family of amino acid transporters found in all domains of life and one of the largest families of secondary transporters. Here, using a sensitive homology threading approach and modelling we show that the predicted structure of APC members is extremely

similar to the crystal structures of several prokaryotic transporters belonging AG-14699 to evolutionary distinct protein families with different substrate specificities. All of these proteins, despite having no primary amino acid sequence similarity, share a similar structural core, consisting of two V-shaped domains of five transmembrane domains each, intertwined in an antiparallel topology. Based on this model, we reviewed available data on functional mutations in bacterial, fungal and mammalian APCs and obtained novel mutational data, which provide compelling evidence that the amino acid binding pocket is located in the vicinity of the unwound part of two broken helices, in a nearly identical position to the structures of similar transporters. Our analysis is fully supported by the evolutionary conservation and specific amino acid substitutions in the proposed substrate binding domains. Furthermore, it allows predictions concerning residues that might be crucial in determining the specificity profile of APC members. Finally, we show that two cytoplasmic loops constitute important functional elements in APCs.