Actin is one of the most abundant and highly conserved proteins in eukaryotic cells. The globular protein assembles into long filaments, which form a variety of different networks within the cytoskeleton. The dynamic reorganization of these networks - which is pivotal for cell motility, cell adhesion, and cell division - is based on cycles of polymerization (assembly) and depolymerization (disassembly) of actin filaments. Actin binds ATP and within the filament, actin-bound ATP is hydrolyzed into ADP on a time scale of a few minutes. As ADP-actin dissociates faster from the filament ends than ATP-actin, the filament becomes less stable as it grows older. Recent single filament experiments, where abrupt dynamical changes during filament depolymerization have been observed, suggest the opposite behavior, however, namely that the actin filaments become increasingly stable with time. Several mechanisms for this stabilization have been proposed, ranging from structural transitions of the whole filament to surface attachment of the filament ends. The key issue of this thesis is to elucidate the unexpected interruptions of depolymerization by a combination of experimental and theoretical studies. In new depolymerization experiments on single filaments, we confirm that filaments cease to shrink in an abrupt manner and determine the time from the initiation of depolymerization until the occurrence of the first interruption. This duration differs from filament to filament and represents a stochastic variable. We consider various hypothetical mechanisms that may cause the observed interruptions. These mechanisms cannot be distinguished directly, but they give rise to distinct distributions of the time until the first interruption, which we compute by modeling the underlying stochastic processes. A comparison with the measured distribution reveals that the sudden truncation of the shrinkage process neither arises from blocking of the ends nor from a collective transition of the whole filament. Instead, we predict a local transition process occurring at random sites within the filament. The combination of additional experimental findings and our theoretical approach confirms the notion of a local transition mechanism and identifies the transition as the photo-induced formation of an actin dimer within the filaments. Unlabeled actin filaments do not exhibit pauses, which implies that, in vivo, older filaments become destabilized by ATP hydrolysis. This destabilization can be identified with an acceleration of the depolymerization prior to the interruption. In the final part of this thesis, we theoretically analyze this acceleration to infer the mechanism of ATP hydrolysis. We show that the rate of ATP hydrolysis is constant within the filament, corresponding to a random as opposed to a vectorial hydrolysis mechanism. / Aktin ist eines der am häufigsten vorkommenden und am stärksten konservierten Proteine in eukaryotischen Zellen. Dieses globuläre Protein bildet lange Filamente, die zu einer großen Vielfalt von Netzwerken innerhalb des Zellskeletts führen. Die dynamische Reorganisation dieser Netzwerke, die entscheidend für Zellbewegung, Zelladhäsion, und Zellteilung ist, basiert auf der Polymerisation (dem Aufbau) und der Depolymerisation (dem Abbau) von Aktinfilamenten. Aktin bindet ATP, welches innerhalb des Filaments auf einer Zeitskala von einigen Minuten in ADP hydrolysiert wird. Da ADP-Aktin schneller vom Filamentende dissoziiert als ATP-Aktin, sollte ein Filament mit der Zeit instabiler werden. Neuere Experimente, in denen abrupte dynamische Änderungen während der Filamentdepolymerisation beobachtet wurden, deuten jedoch auf ein gegenteiliges Verhalten hin: Die Aktinfilamente werden mit der Zeit zunehmend stabiler. Mehrere Mechanismen für diese Stabilisierung wurden bereits vorgeschlagen, von strukturellen Übergängen des gesamten Filaments bis zu Wechselwirkungen der Filamentenden mit dem experimentellen Aufbau. Das zentrale Thema der vorliegenden Dissertation ist die Aufklärung der unerwarteten Unterbrechungen der Depolymerisation. Dies geschieht durch eine Kombination von experimentellen und theoretischen Untersuchungen. Mit Hilfe neuer Depolymerisationexperimente mit einzelnen Filamenten bestätigen wir zunächst, dass die Filamente plötzlich aufhören zu schrumpfen und bestimmen die Zeit, die von der Einleitung der Depolymerisation bis zum Auftreten der ersten Unterbrechung vergeht. Diese Zeit unterscheidet sich von Filament zu Filament und stellt eine stochastische Größe dar. Wir untersuchen daraufhin verschiedene hypothetische Mechanismen, welche die beobachteten Unterbrechungen verursachen könnten. Die Mechanismen können experimentell nicht direkt unterschieden werden, haben jedoch verschiedene Verteilungen für die Zeit bis zur ersten Unterbrechung zur Folge. Wir berechnen die jeweiligen Verteilungen, indem wir die zugrundeliegenden stochastischen Prozesse modellieren. Ein Vergleich mit der gemessenen Verteilung zeigt, dass der plötzliche Abbruch des Depolymerisationsprozesses weder auf eine Blockade der Enden, noch auf einen kollektiven strukturellen Übergang des gesamten Filaments zurückzuführen ist. An Stelle dessen postulieren wir einen lokalen Übergangsprozess, der an zufälligen Stellen innerhalb des Filaments auftritt. Die Kombination von weiteren experimentellen Ergebnissen und unserem theoretischen Ansatz bestätigt die Vorstellung eines lokalen Übergangsmechanismus und identifiziert den Übergang als die photo-induzierte Bildung eines Aktindimers innerhalb des Filaments. Nicht fluoreszenzmarkierte Aktinfilamente zeigen keine Unterbrechungen, woraus folgt, dass ältere Filamente in vivo durch die ATP-Hydrolyse destabilisiert werden. Die Destabilisierung zeigt sich durch die Beschleunigung der Depolymerisation vor der Unterbrechung. Im letzten Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit untersuchen wir diese Beschleunigung mit theoretischen Methoden, um auf den Mechanismus der ATP-Hydrolyse zu schließen. Wir zeigen, dass die Hydrolyserate von ATP innerhalb des Filaments konstant ist, was dem sogenannten zufälligen Hydrolysemechanismus entspricht und im Gegensatz zum sogenannten vektoriellen Mechanismus steht.

Most urinary tract infections in humans and dogs are caused by uropathogenic strains of , and increasing antimicrobial resistance among these pathogens has created a need for a novel approach to therapy. Bacterial iron uptake and metabolism are potential targets for novel antimicrobial therapy, as iron is a limiting factor in . growth during infection. As a trivalent metal of similar atomic size to iron (III), gallium can interact with a wide variety of biomolecules that normally contain or interact with iron. Gallium compounds disrupt bacterial iron metabolism, are known to accumulate at sites of infection and inflammation in mammals, exert antimicrobial activity against multiple bacterial pathogens in vitro, and may be good candidates as novel antimicrobial drugs. We assessed the suitability of orally administered gallium maltolate as a potential new antimicrobial therapy for urinary tract infections by evaluating its distribution into the bladder, its activity against uropathogenic . in vitro, and its pharmacokinetics and efficacy in a mouse cystitis model. Using a novel application of synchrotron-based analytical methods, we confirmed the distribution of gallium to the bladder mucosa and characterized the relationship between iron and gallium distribution in the bladder. In vitro experiments with human and canine uropathogenic . isolates demonstrated that gallium maltolate exerts antimicrobial effects in a time-dependent, bacteriostatic manner. Minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged from 0.144 µmol/mL to >9.20 µmol/mL with a median of 1.15 µmol/mL. Isolates resistant to ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, or with decreased susceptibility to cephalothin were susceptible to the antimicrobial activity of gallium maltolate, suggesting that resistance to conventional antimicrobials does not predict resistance to gallium maltolate. Pharmacokinetic studies in healthy mice and in a mouse model of urinary tract infection confirmed that gallium is absorbed into systemic circulation after oral administration of gallium maltolate. Gallium is slowly eliminated from the body, with a trend toward longer terminal half-lives in blood and bladder for infected mice relative to healthy mice. This study did not reveal any statistically significant effect of infection status on maximum blood gallium concentrations (4.46 nmol/mL, 95% confidence interval 2.75 nmol/mL – 6.18 nmol/mL and 4.80 nmol/mL, 95% confidence interval 2.53 nmol/mL – 7.06 nmol/mL in healthy and infected mice, respectively) or total gallium exposure in blood and kidney as represented by area under the concentration vs. time curves. Gallium exposure in the bladder was significantly greater for mice with urinary tract infections than for healthy mice. The investigation of gallium distribution within tissues represented a novel application of synchrotron-based analytical techniques to antimicrobial pharmacokinetics. Prior to analysing tissue samples, a library of x-ray absorption spectra was assembled for gallium compounds in both the hard and soft x-ray ranges. The suitability of hard x-ray fluorescence imaging and scanning and transmission x-ray microscopy for localizing and speciating trace elements in tissues was subsequently assessed. Of these methods, only hard x-ray microprobe analysis was well-suited to the analysis and was successfully used for this application. This approach confirmed that gallium arrives at the bladder mucosa after oral administration of gallium maltolate. Furthermore, comparison of iron and gallium distribution within the bladder mucosa indicated that these elements are similarly but not identically distributed and that they do not significantly inhibit one another’s distribution. This finding suggests that gallium may be distributed in part via pathways that do not involve iron. Despite the favorable distribution characteristics of gallium and the persistence of gallium in target tissues following the oral administration of gallium maltolate, its efficacy in a mouse model of urinary tract infection was disappointing. In this study, no statistically significant difference was detected between gallium maltolate, ciprofloxacin and sham treatments in their ability to eliminate bacteria in the urinary tracts. The failure of ciprofloxacin treatment to render bladder tissue culture-negative for an organism that is classified as ciprofloxacin-susceptible in vitro is consistent with observations from other research groups. The similar lack of efficacy observed for gallium maltolate may be related to the large gap between minimum inhibitory concentrations observed in vitro and gallium concentrations observed in tissues from treated mice, but may also be related to the small study size if the effect size of gallium maltolate treatment is small. Given the magnitude of the difference between tissue concentrations and minimum inhibitory concentrations, it may not be possible to increase the dose sufficiently to achieve therapeutic concentrations without causing toxicity. While the results of these experiments suggest that orally administered gallium maltolate may not be a reasonable antimicrobial drug candidate for treating urinary tract infections caused by uropathogenic . , it may be useful for other applications. Other bacterial pathogens may be more susceptible to the antimicrobial effects of gallium maltolate, and local or topical administration could produce much higher concentrations than we observed following oral administration. Continued development of the synchrotron-based analytical techniques used in these experiments could provide new and important opportunities to investigate antimicrobial distribution and metabolism within cells and tissues, particularly for metal-based drugs.

No description available.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemistry / Daniel A. Higgins / This dissertation describes the application of wide-field single-molecule fluorescence microscopy techniques to investigations of DNA-surface interactions on chemically graded organosilane surfaces. The adsorption and desorption behaviors of double-stranded (ds) plasmid DNA along the amino-trimethoxysilane and octyl-trichlorosilane gradients were explored as a function of solution pH, solution ionic strength and surface properties. The results provide an improved fundamental understanding of DNA interactions with different surfaces and are certain to aid in the development and advancement of DNA-based biological and biomedical devices. Three distinct experiments were performed in completion of the work for this dissertation. In the first study, total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy was employed to study DNA interactions with aminosilane gradient surfaces under relatively acidic and basic environments. Electrical potentials were applied to assist DNA adsorption and desorption. The single-molecule data clearly showed that DNA capture and release was achieved on the monolayer and submonolayer coated regions of the aminosilane gradient surface under relatively basic pH conditions, with the help of an electrical potential. Meanwhile, DNA adsorption was found to be quasi-reversible on the multilayers at the high aminosilane end of the gradient in the relatively acidic solution. The results of these studies demonstrate the importance of manipulating the electrostatic interactions of DNA with charged surfaces in order to achieve DNA capture and release. The fundamental knowledge of the DNA-surface interactions gained in these studies will be helpful in diverse fields ranging from the layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolyte-based thin films to the selective electronic sensing of charged biomolecules. In the second study, the local dielectric properties of the least polar environments in dsDNA were assessed by using the solvatochromic dye, nile red, as a polarity-sensitive probe. TIRF spectroscopic imaging methods were employed in these studies. Although the dielectric constant within the least polar regions of dsDNA was previously predicted by theoretical and computational methods, no experimental measurements of its value had been reported to date. The results provide important knowledge of the factors governing the polarity of DNA microenvironments to which intercalators bind, and provide vital experimental support for the values determined in computational studies. In the third study, TIRF microscopy and single molecule tracking methods were employed to study DNA interactions with an opposed two-component C8-silane and aminosilane gradient surface as a function of solution pH. The mobility of surface-adsorbed DNA molecules was explored and quantified in these studies. The preliminary results further demonstrated the importance of electrostatic interactions over hydrophobic interactions in governing the adsorption of DNA to surfaces. The mobility of surface-adsorbed DNA was found to be largely independent of position along the two-component gradient. These studies were originally undertaken as a route to observation of cooperative effects that are believed to govern DNA-surface binding. Unfortunately, no clear evidence of cooperative effects was observed at the mixed regions of the two-component gradient surface.

No description available.

Le moteur flagellaire bactérien (BFM) est un complexe moléculaire qui permet aux bactéries de nager dans un milieu liquide. La rotation du moteur est générée à l’interface entre deux éléments clés: les protéines formant le stator (MotA and MoB) et l’anneau C “switching complex” à la base du rotor. Les stators sont des modules du moteur structurellement et fonctionnellement différentiables du reste du moteur, et leurs association et dissociation dynamique autour du rotor contrôle la génération du couple. Quand une protéine fluorescente (PF) est fusionnée à MotB, le moteur est en état de marche mais une réduction générale de la mobilité de la cellule a été observée. La raison précise d’une telle réduction de mobilité n’a pas été étudiée.Le but de cette étude est de comprendre comment la fusion PF de la protéine du stator modifie la génération du couple et le sens de rotation du moteur. C’est particulièrement important car le tag FP se trouve à l’interface entre le stator et le rotor, là où le couple et le changement du sens de rotation sont produits. Trois différentes PFs (eGFP, YPet, Dendra2) ont été fusionnées à la protéine MotB. Malgré la haute similarité de leurs structures, notre analyse a montré que les trois stators fusionnés génèrent des couples différents. Les stators marqués avec YPet produisent un couple moyen similaire au WT (stators sans tag PF), alors que les stators marqués avec eGFP et Dendra2 produisent respectivement 70% et 40% du couple moyen du WT. De plus, les moteurs utilisant les stators fusionnés ont montré des capacités de changement de sens de rotation réduites. Lors d’un changement de sens de rotation, la valeur absolue de la vitesse des moteurs WT ne change pas. Cette “symétrie” de vitesse lors du changement n’apparaît pas avec les moteurs à stators fusionnés et le changement peut être accompagné d’une importante diminution (~30%) de la vitesse absolue.En observant par microcopie TIRF avec détection de molécules uniques, des stators marqués dans un moteur en état de marche, les signaux de fluorescence sont détectés à la membrane comme prévu pour ces protéines, montrant une population de stators diffusant dans celle-ci. Les clusters fluorescents étaient visibles au centre des cellules en rotation, attachés au couvre-glace par une seule flagelle, confirmant que le tag de fluorescence peut être visualisé dans des moteurs en état de marche. Dans un second projet développé dans le laboratoire Bertus Beaumont à TU Delft, en prenant le BFM en tant que système modèle d’évolution expérimentale, sa modularité et son « évolubilité » ont été explorés pour apprendre les détails au niveau moléculaire de l’évolution de ce type de machine. Les stators de E.coli ont été échangés par un set de 21 stators étrangers homologues. L’expérience a révélé que les protéines du stator peuvent être échangées entre espèces de bactéries distantes et certains stators non compatibles peuvent être modifiés positivement par un procédé d’évolution pour devenir fonctionnels. Au cours de cette évolution, les bactéries ont accumulé des mutations avantageuses dans leurs gènes MotA et MotB étrangers, tout particulièrement dans leur domaine fonctionnel. Des mutations identiques dans des stators différents ont été observées, indiquant que l’évolution peut se reproduire. L’analyse fonctionnelle au niveau d’un seul moteur a révélé que ces mutations avantageuses amélioraient la génération du couple et/ou la capacité du moteur à changer de sens. Les investigations détaillées du génotype et du phénotype du BFM modifié par évolution apportés par cette étude, pourraient donner une idée sur la façon dont des machines moléculaires comme le BFM ont évolué, et les effets fonctionnels des mutations bénéfiques qui facilitent l'intégration fonctionnelle. / The bacterial flagellar motor (BFM) is the macromolecular complex which allows bacteria to swim in liquid media. Located at the base of the flagellum, anchored in the cell membrane, this remarkably small (~45nm) yet powerful rotary motor rotates each flagellum of the cell switching between counterclockwise (CCW) and clockwise (CW) direction. The motor rotation is generated at the interface between the two key components of the motor: the stator protein complexes (each composed of 4 MotA and 2 MotB proteins) and the C- ring protein complex at the base of the rotor. The stator complexes are structurally and functionally discernible modules of the motor, and their dynamical association and dissociation around the rotor controls the generation of torque.The first project of this study aims to investigate how the FP tag on the stator protein modifies the torque generation and switching of the motor. This is particularly important because the fluorescent protein tag lies at the interface between stator and rotor, where torque and switching are produced. Three different FPs (eGFP, YPet, Dendra2) were fused to MotB. Interestingly, despite the high similarity of their structures, our analysis revealed that the three fusion stators generate different torque. Furthermore, in the presence of fusion stators, the motor showed significantly impaired switching abilities. When switching direction of the rotation, the absolute value of the speed of WT motors does not change, whereas this symmetry of speed upon switching is not observed in the fusion stator motors, and switching can be accompanied with a significant (~30%) decrease in absolute speed. Both the impaired torque generation and the switching ability were improved by introducing a rigid linker between the stator and the FP tag. Taken together, this study provides a further insight into the dynamics of the stator and rotor interaction at its interface.When the cells carrying the fluorescently labeled stators were observed in a custom made TIRF-fluorescence microscope with single molecule capability, the fluorescence signals were detected as concentrated clusters in the membrane as expected for these membrane proteins around the motors, together with a population of stators diffusing in the membrane. Fluorescent clusters were visible at the center of rotating cells tethered to the glass slide by a single flagellum, confirming that the fluorescent tags can be visualized in functioning motors.In a second project developed in Bertus Beaumont lab at TU Delft, taking BFM as an experimental evolutionary model system, its modularity and evolvability have been explored to learn the molecular details of the evolution of molecular machines. The stators of E.coli have been exchanged by a set of 21 homologue foreign stators. The experiments revealed that the stator proteins can be exchanged between distant bacteria species, and some of the non-compatible stators can be positively modified by evolution to become functional. Those evolved strains accumulated beneficial mutations in their foreign motA and motB genes, especially on their functional domains. Identical mutations in different stators were common, indicating that evolution is repeatable. The functional investigation at the single motor level revealed that those beneficial mutations improved the torque generation and/or the switching ability of the motor. The detailed genotype and phenotype investigations of the evolutionary modified BFM may bring an insight into how molecular machines such as BFM have evolved as well as the functional effects of the beneficial mutations that facilitate functional integration.

Dans la première partie de cette thèse, nous étudions la cinétique de la complexation d'un double brin d'ADN par la protéine NCp7. Pour ce faire, nous étudions l'évolution des propriétés mécaniques de l'ADN au fur et à mesure de sa complexation, en étirant la complexe ADN/NCp7 à l'aide d'un montage de piégeage optique. Nous avons observé que la longueur de persistance du complexe diminue au fur et à mesure de la complexation. En utilisant un modèle statistique décrivant l'évolution de la flexibilité de l'ADN complexé par NCp7. Notre principal résultat est que la fraction//phi de paires de bases ayant réagi n'est pas une fonction linéaire du temps aux faibles //phi. Nous interprétons nos résultats en supposant que l'adsorption de NCp7 sur l'ADN est fortement coopérative. Dans deuxième chapitre, nous décrivons la dynamique de particules sondes dans une suspension vitreuse colloïdale de Laponite. La Laponite est une particule colloïdale discoïdale de 25nm de diamètre et de 0.92 nm d'épaisseur. Nous utilisons une expérience de microscopie en onde évanescente, et suivons le mouvement de particules fluorescentes de latex. Nous imageons ensuite ces particules. Nous montrons que, pour un mouvement possédant une seule échelle de temps caractéristique, elle est simplement une fonction linéaire du temps. Nous obtenons que, quelle que soit leur taille, le mouvement des particules sondes peut être décrit par une succession de deux modes dynamiques, où le mode le plus rapide correspond à la diffusion des particules dans un fluide viscoélastique. / In the first part of this thesis, we study the kinetics of the complexation of a double-stranded DNA byNCp7 protein. To do this, we study the evolution of mechanical properties of DNA and its complexation by stretching the DNA/NCp7 complex with a optical trap. We observed that the persistence length of the complex decreases progressively during the complexation. Using astatistical model we describe the evolution of the flexibility of DNA complexed with NCp7. Our main result is that the fraction phi of base pairs that have reacted is not a linear function of time at low phi.We interpret our results assuming that the adsorption of NCp7 on DNA is highly cooperative. In the second chapter, we describe the dynamics of probe particles in a colloidal glassy suspension of Laponite. Laponite is a colloidal discoidal particle of 25 nm in diameter and 0.92 nm thick. We take advantage of evanescent wave microscopy, and follow the movement of fluorescent latex particles.Then we image these particles. We show that for a movement that has a single characteristic time scale, it is simply a linear function of time. We find that, what ever their size, the motion of probe particles can be described by a succession of two dynamic modes, where the fastest mode corresponds to the diffusion of particles in a viscoelastic fluid.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:29:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-03-16Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:38:35Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 trindade_fz_me_arafo.pdf: 753799 bytes, checksum: 6cf9c912e4ce2332952d19081bfcbfa7 (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / A utilização da PDT para tratamento de diferentes tipos de infecções, tal como a candidose bucal, tem sido estudada. Entretanto, poucos são os dados científicos que relatam os possíveis efeitos tóxicos dessa terapia. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos da irradiação na mucosa bucal de ratos com LED azul (de 460 nm e potência de 200 mW/cm2) em presença do fotossensibilizador (FS) Photogem®, em duas diferentes concentrações (500 mg/L e 1000 mg/L). Para isso, foram utilizados 101 ratos (Rattus Norvegicus Albinus Holtzman) distribuídos em 6 grupos, de acordo com os seguintes tratamentos: Grupo 1 – controle; Grupo 2 – aplicação do FS (500 mg/L); Grupo 3 – aplicação do FS (500 mg/L) e irradiação com LED; Grupo 4 - aplicação do FS (1000 mg/L); Grupo 5 – aplicação do FS (1000 mg/L) e irradiação com LED; e Grupo 6 – irradiação com LED. O FS foi aplicado por 30 minutos (tempo de pré-incubação) e o tempo de irradiação da mucosa foi de 20 minutos (dose de 144 J/cm2). Decorridos os 4 períodos de avaliação propostos (0 dia, 1dia, 3 dias e 7 dias), os animais tiveram a mucosa palatina fotografada para análise macroscópica, sendo então imediatamente sacrificados para remoção cirúrgica do palato e posterior análise em microscopia de luz e de fluorescência. Um mapeamento térmico foi realizado a fim de avaliar a variação de temperatura ocorrida no tecido durante a irradiação com LED. Macroscopicamente, em todos os grupos experimentais e para todos os períodos de avaliação propostos na presente pesquisa, observou-se que a mucosa apresentava-se intacta, com aspecto de normalidade semelhante ao do Grupo 1 (controle). Microscopicamente, alterações teciduais, caracterizadas especialmente por discreta inflamação, puderam ser observadas na mucosa palatina de apenas 4 de um total de 80 animais submetidos a PDT... / The use of PDT has been investigated for the treatment of different types of infection, like oral candidosis. There are, however, few research-based data that report the possible toxic effects of this therapy. Therefore, this study evaluated the effects of irradiating the palatal mucosa of rats with blue LED (460 nm; 200 mW/cm²) in the presence of the photosensitizer Photogem® at two concentrations (500 and 1000 mg/L). Then, 101 rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus Holtzman) were randomly distributed in six groups, according to the treatment performed on the palatal mucosa: Group 1: control; Group 2: Photogem® (500 mg/L); Group 3: Photogem® (500 mg/L) + blue LED; Group 4 - Photogem® (1000 mg/L); Group 5: (1000 mg/L) + blue LED; and Group 6: blue LED. The exposure times to the photosensitizing agent and to the light source were 30 min (pre-incubation time) and 20 min (144 J/cm2 energy density), respectively. At 0, 1, 3 and 7 days posttreatment, the animals had their palatal mucosa photographed for macroscopic analysis and were immediately sacrificed. The palate was removed for further analysis by light and fluorescence microscopy. Thermal mapping was made to evaluate the temperature change occurred in the tissue during LED irradiation. In all experimental groups and periods, the macroscopic analysis revealed intact mucosa with normal aspect similar to that of Group 1 (control). Tissue alterations, characterized primarily by a mild inflammation, were observed microscopically on the mucosa of only 4 out of 80 animals subjected to PDT. Photosensitizer penetration into the treated mucosa was identified by the fluorescence emitted by Photogem® and was limited to the epithelial layer. The thermal mapping revealed a temperature increase from 35 to 41ºC during the 20-min irradiation. In conclusion, under the tested conditions, PDT using Photogem® at 500 and 1000 mg/L concentrations... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Neste trabalho estudamos a interação de dois tipos de nanopartículas de prata metálica, obtidas pelo processo de poliol (IQUSP) e pelo método eletrolítico (Khemia®), em células de músculo liso. Um extenso trabalho de caracterização foi realizado, descrevendo a natureza físico-química dessas nanopartículas. Medidas de absorção óptica mostraram que as nanopartículas exibem bandas suaves em torno de 400 nm, região do azul do espectro eletromagnético, devido à ressonância dos plasmons de superfície, evidenciando a tendência à agregação com o tempo. Microscopia eletrônica de transmissão foi realizada para obter as imagens das nanopartículas em micrografias. Histogramas foram construídos para determinar o tamanho das NPs e o índice de polidispersividade. Espectros de EDS foram obtidos para a caracterização química das amostras. Difratogramas de raios X foram obtidos para as AgNPs. Os picos de difração foram indexados e revelaram uma única fase cristalina da prata, com estrutura cúbica e estado de oxidação, Ag0. Com o auxílio desses difratogramas, foram calculados o parâmetro de rede e a distância interplanar dos planos de difração. Utilizando a equação de Scherrer e um ajuste gaussiano dos picos de Ag mostrados nos difratogramas de raios X, foi possível obter o tamanho do cristalito para nanopartículas IQUSP. Experimentos de DLS mostraram distribuição de número monomodal para AgNPs Khemia® e, para AgNPs IQUSP lavadas, distribuição bimodal, estimando-se a distribuição de número e tamanho. Os resultados mostraram que a distribuição dominante é sempre para raios menores, sugerindo partículas menores que se agregam com o tempo e formam maiores dimensões. Resultados de SAXS mostraram que as amostras fornecem boa intensidade de espalhamento. Utilizando modelos teóricos foram calculados o raio médio da distribuição, polidispersividade e raio de giro. Os dados revelaram que as nanopartículas IQUSP possuem um raio maior que as AgNPs Khemia® e não apresentaram agregação. Em contrapartida, AgNPs Khemia® apresentaram maior agregação, com polidispersividade relativa de 72%. Para AgNPs IQ--USP, análises de SAXS forneceram tamanho de partícula comparável a TEM e bastante diferente de DLS. As medidas de SAXS para AgNPs Khemia® mostram diferenças com as medidas de TEM e DLS. Ficou evidente o efeito da agregação, que tem influências desde o preparo das amostras até o tempo de realização das medidas. Testes de citotocixidade e estudos de análise morfológica por microscopia de fluorescência evidenciaram as características citotóxicas de cada nanopartícula. Os resultados apresentados pela análise morfológica realizada com microscopia de fluorescência concordam com os testes de citotoxicidade. AgNPs IQUSP mostraram alta toxicidade até a concentração 9.37 mg/mL, onde as células são apresentadas com fragmentação nuclear. Em concentrações mais baixas, as AgNPs IQUSP exibiram características morfológicas comparáveis ao grupo controle. Por sua vez, AgNPs Khemia® mostram alta toxicidade até a concentração 1.37 mg/mL, com índice IC50 variando na faixa de 1.3 a 6.7 mg/mL. Foi possível observar que concentrações mais altas induzem à fragmentação nuclear, desencadeando processos como apoptose e necrose. Experimentos utilizando a técnica de OMTC demonstraram que as diferentes concentrações de nanopartículas de prata podem modificar a rigidez celular. Isto é evidenciado quando comparamos o grupo controle com os demais grupos, com as diferentes concentrações de NPs. Para concentrações mais altas de nanopartículas, verificou-se um aumento da viscoelasticidade. Os dois tipos de nanopartículas estudadas apresentaram mudanças nas propriedades mecânicas, mas as AgNPs Khemia® apresentaram um maior aumento na viscoelasticidade nas diferentes concentrações de NPs. Essa mudança na viscoelasticidade foi explicada como sendo devido à maior disponibilidade do cálcio, liberado por células apoptóticas, o qual é utilizado no complexo miosina-actina para gerar contração muscular. / In this work we study the interaction of two types of metallic silver nanoparticles, obtained by the polyol process (IQUSP) and the electrolytic method (Khemia®), in smooth muscle cells. An extensive characterization work was carried out, describing the physico-chemical nature of these nanoparticles. Optical absorption measurements showed that nanoparticles exhibit smooth bands around 400 nm, the blue region of the electromagnetic spectrum, due to the resonance of the surface plasmons, evidencing the tendency to aggregate with time. Transmission electron microscopy was performed to obtain images of the nanoparticles in micrographs. Histograms were constructed to determine the size of NPs and the index of polydispersity. EDS spectra were obtained for the chemical characterization of the samples. X-ray diffraction patterns were obtained for the AgNPs. The diffraction peaks have been indexed and showed a single crystal layer of silver, with cubic structure and oxidation state, Ag0. By means of these diffractograms, the network parameter and the interplanar distance of the diffraction planes were calculated. Using the Scherrer equation and a Gaussian fit of the Ag peaks shown in the X-ray diffractograms, it was possible to obtain the crystallite size for IQ-USP nanoparticles. DLS experiments showed monomodal number distribution for Khemia® AgNPs and, for washed IQUSP AgNPs, bimodal distribution, estimating the number and size distribution. The results showed that the dominant distribution is always for smaller rays, suggesting smaller particles that aggregate with time and form larger dimensions. SAXS results showed that the samples provide good scattering intensity. Using the theoretical models, the average radius of the distribution, polydispersity and radius of gyration were calculated. The data revealed that the IQUSP nanoparticles have a larger radius than the Khemia® and did not show aggregation. In contrast, Khemia® AgNPs showed higher aggregation, with 72% relative polydispersity. For IQ-USP AgNPs, SAXS analyzes provided particle size comparable to TEM and quite different from DLS. SAXS measurements for Khemia® AgNPs show differences with TEM and DLS measurements. It was evident the effect of the aggregation that has influences from the sample preparation until the time of performing the measurements. Cytotoxicity tests and morphological analysis studies by fluorescence microscopy evidenced the cytotoxic characteristics of each nanoparticle. The results presented by the morphological analysis performed with fluorescence microscopy agree with the cytotoxicity tests. IQ-USP nanoparticles showed high toxicity up to the concentration of 9.37 mg/mL, where the cells are presented with nuclear fragmentation. At lower concentrations, the IQUSP AgNPs exhibited morphological characteristics comparable to the control group. In addition, Khemia® AgNPs show high toxicity up to the concentration of 1.37 mg/mL, with IC50 in the range of 1.3 to 6.7 mg/mL. It was possible to observe that higher concentrations induce nuclear fragmentation, triggering processes such as apoptosis and necrosis. Experiments using the OMTC technique demonstrated that different concentrations of silver nanoparticles can modify cell stiffness. This is evidenced when we compare the control group with the other groups, with the different concentrations of NPs. For higher concentrations of nanoparticles, there was an increase in viscoelasticity. The two types of nanoparticles studied showed changes in mechanical properties, but Khemia® AgNPs showed a greater increase in viscoelasticity at different concentrations. This change in viscoelasticity was explained to be due to the increased availability of calcium, released by apoptotic cells, which is used in the myosin-actin complex to generate muscle contraction.

A leishmaniose é uma doença tropical negligenciada causada por diferentes espécies do gênero Leishmania que atinge grande parte da população mais pobre do mundo e sua manifestação visceral, que é fatal se não tratada, tem se alastrado atingindo grandes cidades, aumentando o número de pessoas com risco de infecção. Dentre os medicamentos em uso, está o análogo lipídico sintético hexadecilfosfocolina (miltefosina), administrado oralmente, que age nas membranas celulares do parasita e pode induzir apoptose, mas com modo de ação não totalmente esclarecido. O primeiro local de interação desse fármaco é a membrana celular do parasita, sendo importante o conhecimento da sua forma de interação. Neste trabalho examinamos propriedades de diversos modelos de membrana com diferentes composições, levando em consideração o conhecimento existente sobre a composição da membrana plasmática da Leishmania. Assim, as membranas modelo foram vesículas unilamelares grandes e gigantes (LUVs e GUVs), de fosfolipídios puros, de misturas binárias com fosfolipídios e colesterol e ainda misturas ternárias com ceramida, um esterol presente nas membranas de Leishmania. A interação com a miltefosina foi estudada em diferentes intervalos de concentração do fármaco. Como técnicas principais utilizamos a espectroscopia de fluorescência, estática e resolvida no tempo, a espectroscopia de correlação de fluorescência, microscopia de fluorescência e confocal e imagens por tempo de vida de fluorescência. Observou-se que a interação entre o fármaco e as membranas lipídicas ocorre de diferentes formas, dependendo i) da razão molar entre o fármaco e os lipídios; ii) da concentração real do fármaco, se abaixo ou acima da concentração micelar crítica (CMC); iii) da composição do modelo de membrana e da fase lipídica da bicamada. Em concentrações abaixo da CMC, a miltefosina tem efeito de fluidificação das bicamadas, principalmente quando elas se encontram em na fase gel, mas esse efeito é pouco pronunciado na presença de colesterol, pois esse composto protege a bicamada do efeito do fármaco. Em vesículas de misturas ternárias de fosfolipídio, colesterol e ceramida em alta concentração, não há separação de fases, e a presença de 10 mol% de miltefosina promove a formação de domínios de ceramida; nas vesículas em que a ceramida está em concentração molar mais baixa, formando domínios, a separação de fases fica menos evidente com o acréscimo de miltefosina. Em razões de concentração miltefosina/lipídio elevadas, mas ainda abaixo da CMC, observa-se diminuição no tamanho das vesículas, por formação de agregados de fármaco/lipídio com porções da bicamada. Em concentrações acima da CMC, ocorrem efeitos drásticos com solubilização de partes cada vez maiores da bicamada da membrana, e esses efeitos ocorrem em tempos menores quanto maior a concentração de miltefosina. Portanto, de maneira geral, o colesterol protege a bicamada do efeito da miltefosina, mas o fármaco tem efeito pronunciado em modelos de membrana de misturas ternárias contendo ceramida. Os efeitos variam com a concentração da miltefosina, com aumento da fluidez da bicamada em baixas razões fármaco/lipídios, solubilização de pequenas porções da bicamada e diminuição do tamanho das vesículas em razões maiores, mas ainda abaixo da CMC, e acima da CMC, formação de agregados do fármaco com porções dos lipídios da bicamada e fragmentação da membrana. / Leishmaniasis is a complex of diseases part of the neglected tropical diseases caused by several species of the genus Leishmania. It reaches a large part of the poorest people in the world and its visceral form, which is fatal if left untreated, has been spread around big cities, increasing the number of people at risk of infection. Among the used drugs for the treatment, there is the synthetic lipid analogue hexadecylphosphocholine (miltefosine), orally administrated, which acts in the cell membranes and can induce apoptosis like death, but its mechanism of action is not totally clear. The first interactions site of this drug is the cell membrane, and it is important to know its mechanism of interaction. In this work we explore properties of several membrane models with different compositions, taking into account the existent knowledge about the composition of the Leishmania plasma membrane. Therefore, the model membranes were giant and large unilamellar vesicles (GUVs and LUVs), formed from pure phospholipids, binary mixtures of phospholipids and cholesterol and ternary mixtures with ceramide, a sterol present in the Leishmania membranes. The interaction with miltefosine was studied in different intervals of drug concentration. The main techniques used were the steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, confocal and fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence lifetime imaging. The interaction depends on i) the molar ratio of drug and lipids; ii) the real concentration of the drug, if it is below or above the critical micelle concentration (CMC); iii) the composition of the model membrane and the lipid phase of the bilayer. In concentration below the CMC, miltefosine has an effect of bilayer fluidization, mainly when it is in a more ordered phase, but this effect is less pronounced in cholesterol presence, because this compound protects the bilayers from the drug effect. In vesicles from ternary mixtures of phospholipid, cholesterol and ceramide in high concentration, there is no phase separation, and the presence of 10 mol% of miltefosine promotes ceramide domains formation; in vesicles in which ceramide is in low concentration, forming domains, the phase separation is less evident with miltefosine addition. In high concentration ratio miltefosine/lipids, but below CMC, it is observed a decrease in vesicles size with drug/lipids aggregates formation from portion of the bilayer. In concentrations above the CMC, drastic effects occur, with solubilization of bigger portions of the membrane bilayer, and the effects occur in lower times for higher drug concentration. Therefore, generally, cholesterol protects bilayer from the effect of miltefosine, but the drug has a pronounced effect in model membranes of ternary mixtures containing ceramide. The effects vary with miltefosine concentration, increasing the bilayer fluidity in lower drug/lipid ratio, solubilization of small portions of the bilayer and decrease of vesicles size in higher ratios, but still below CMC, and above CMC, formation of aggregates of the drug with portions of bilayer lipids, and membrane fragmentation.