الصفحة 1
الصفحة 1
Voltage-Sensitive Ion Channels : Biophysics of Molecular Excitability
Explores the complexity of a microscopic bit of matter that exists in a myriad of copies within our bodies, the voltage-sensitive ion channel. We seek to investigate the way in which these macromolecules make it possible for the long fibers of our nerve and muscle cells to conduct impulses. These integral components of cell membranes are marvels of nature's evolutionary adaptation. To understand them we must probe the boundaries of physics and chemistry. Since function is intimately related to structure, we examine the molecular structure of channels, focusing on physical principles that govern all matter. With the application of genetic methods, our knowledge of ion channels has broadened and deepened. In the hope that research can help ameliorate suffering, we discuss the diseases that arise from channel malfunctions due to genetic mutations.
Sphingolipid Biology
Provides many examples of exciting new developments in sphingolipid biology/sphingolipidology that are changing our understanding of how multicellular organisms grow, develop, function, age, and die. Key areas addressed include sphingolipid biosynthesis, transport and membrane organization/lipid rafts; genetic approaches to understanding the roles of membrane sphingolipid biosynthesis; sphingolipid metabolism, specific G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and signal transduction; and sphingolipid-associated disease and drug development.
Single Cell Based Models in Biology and Medicine
The aim of this book is to assemble a collection of different mathematical and computational models and techniques that focus on individual cells, cell processes and cell behaviour, that are also suitable to address problems on the multi-cellular or tissue scale. We would like to focus the level of the book equally to students starting their research in the field of mathematical biology and to scientists already modelling multi-cellular processes. Therefore, our intention is to include in this book a detailed description of each model and an extensive review of suitable biological and medical applications.
Protein-Lipid Interactions : New Approaches and Emerging Concepts
This book brings together in a single volume the most recent views of experts in the area of protein–lipid interactions, providing an overview of the advances that have been achieved in the field in recent years, from very basic aspects to specialized technological applications. Topics include the application of X-ray and neutron diffraction, infrared and fluorescence spectroscopy, and high-resolution NMR to the understanding of the specific interactions between lipids and proteins within biological membranes, their structural relationships, and the implications for the biological functions that they mediate. Also covered in this volume are the insertion of proteins and peptides into the membrane and the concomitant formation of definite lipid domains within the membrane.
Neuroacanthocytosis Syndromes
Neuroacanthocytosis Syndromes is the first comprehensive review of a field that has not yet received the attention it deserves. Affecting the brain as well as the circulating red cells, these multi-system disorders in the past had often been mistaken for Huntington's disease. Recent breakthroughs have now identified the molecular basis of several of these. This volume grew out of the first international scientific meeting ever devoted to neuroacanthocytosis and provides in-depth information about the state of the art. Its thirty chapters were written by the leading authorities in the field to cover the clinical as well as the basic science perspective, including not only molecular genetics but also experimental pharmacology and cell membrane biology, among others. The book vehemently poses the question of how the membrane deformation of circulating red blood cells relates to degeneration of nerve cells in the brain, the basal ganglia, in particular. It provides a wealth of data that will help to solve an intriguing puzzle and ease the suffering of those affected by one of the neuroacanthocytosis syndromes.
Ionic Soft Matter : Modern Trends in Theory and Applications; Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Ionic Soft Matter: Modern Trends in Theory and Application Lviv, Ukraine, 14-17 April, 2004
Consists of reviews of the experimental, theoretical and simulation studies on ionic criticality, polyelectrolytes, proton transport in fuel cell membranes, and the design of DNA arrays. This book deals with discussions of the fundamental and applied problems of important phenomena such as ion association, ion adsorption, ion solvation.
Developing Organogel of CoEnzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10 is a small lipophilic molecule composed of a benzoquinone ring and a hydrophobic isoprenoid tail and is present in all cell membranes. It is also an antioxidant. It plays a substantial role in energy production by acting as a mobile electron carrier in the electron transport chain. It has poor intestinal absorption and is prepared in topical forms. Organogel is a non-crystalline, non-glassy thermoreversible (thermoplastic) solid material and viscoelastic system can be regarded as a semi-solid preparation which has an immobilized external apolar phase, it is compatible with high molecular weight ingredients. The objective of present work is to prepare new dosage form with studying of different factors and conditions affecting preparation. Materials and methods: stearic acid and Flaxseed oil organogel was prepared by three methods and confirmed by quality assessment methods including: transparency, structure analysis, inverted tube test, kinetic of organogalation and stability test.
CO-ENZYME Q10
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a fat-soluble compound that is synthesized by the body and can be obtained from the diet. Co-Q10 plays a central role in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). It also functions as an antioxidant in cell membranes and lipoproteins. Endogenous synthesis and dietary intake provide sufficient C0- Q10 to prevent deficiency in healthy people, although coenzyme Q10 concentrations in tissues decline with age. Oral supplementation of coenzyme Q10 increases coenzyme Q10 concentrations in plasma and lipoproteins. Oral high-dose co- Q10 is usually effective to treat mitochondrial disorders that are caused by mutations in coenzyme Q10 biosynthetic genes.
Life - As a Matter of Fat : The Emerging Science of Lipidomics
Lipids are as important for life as proteins, sugars, and genes. The present book gives a multi-disciplinary perspective on the physics of life and the particular role played by lipids and the lipid-bilayer component of cell membranes. The book is aimed at undergraduate students and young research workers within physics, chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, nutrition, as well as pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences. The emphasis is on the physical properties of lipid membranes seen as soft and molecularly structured interfaces. By combining and synthesizing insights obtained from a variety of recent studies, an attempt is made to clarify what membrane structure is and how it can be quantitatively described. Furthermore, it is shown how biological function mediated by membranes is controlled by lipid membrane structure and organization on length scales ranging from the size of the individual molecule, across molecular assemblies of proteins and lipid domains in the range of nanometers, to the size of whole cells. Applications of lipids in nano-technology and biomedicine are also described.
Cell-Cell Channels
The biological sciences are dominated by the idea that cells are the functionally autonomous, physically separated, discrete units of life. This concept was propounded in the 19th century by discoveries of the cellular structuring of both plants and animals. Moreover, the ap parent autonomy of unicellular eukaryotes, as well as the cellular basis of the mammalian brain (an organ whose anatomy for a long while defied attempts to validate the idea of the cellular nature of its neurons), seemed to provide the final conclusive evidence for the completeness of *cell theory', a theory which has persisted in an almost dogmatic form up to the present day. However, it is very obvious that there are numerous observations which indicate that it is not the cells which serve as the basic units of biological life but that this property falls to some other, subcellular assemblage. To deal with this intricate problem concerning the fundamental unit of living matter, we proposed the so-called Cell Body concept which, in fact, devel ops an exceedingly original idea proposed by Julius Sachs at the end of the 19th century. In the case of eukaryotic cells, DNA-enriched nuclei are intimately associated with a microtubular cytoskeleton. In this configuration—as a Cell Body—these two items comprise the fundamental functional and struc tural unit of eukaryotic living matter. The Cell Body seems to be inherent to all cells in all organisms.
