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Diplomová práca sa zaoberá novou kvalitatívnou analýzou kolagénových vrstiev pomocou cirkulárneho dichroizmu v pevnej fáze. Teoretická časť opisuje kolagén a jeho sekundárnu štruktúru, spektroskopické metódy cirkulárneho dichroizmu (CD) a zoslabenej úplnej reflektancie (ATR). Experimentálna časť sa zaoberá prípravou homogénnych a transparentných kolagénových filmov a optimalizáciou objemu, koncentrácie a sušenia. Následne sa zmerala a vyhodnotila kalibračná krivka s rôznymi pomermi kolagénu a želatíny. Získaná rovnica lineárnej regresie sa použila na stanovenie obsahu kolagénu v modifikovaných vzorkách. Výsledky hodnotených modifikovaných vzoriek boli porovnané s meraniami ATR spektroskopie. Merania ATR ukázali vyšší obsah kolagénu ako CD merania. Vzorky s najnižším a najvyšším obsahom kolagénu sú pre obe metódy rovnaké. Dokazuje to, že môžme porovnávať vzorky s rôznym obsahom kolagénu navzájom, ale nemôžeme určiť presný obsah kolagénu pripojením týchto dvoch metód. Optimalizovaná metóda CD sa môže použiť na prípravu a meranie presného obsahu kolagénu vo vzorkách, najmä v rámci výroby kolagénu, aby sa dosiahla konštantná kvalita kolagénu v každom kroku výroby.

Resumo: Este trabalho abordou a determinação quali e quantitativa de enantiômeros de catequinas em extratos e infusões das folhas de espécies do gênero Byrsonima (Malpighiaceae), tais como: B.basiloba, B. cocolobifolia, B. crassa, B. intermedia e B. verbascifolia. O trabalho descreve a determinação rápida e eficiente de catequina, ent- catequina, epicatequina e ent-epicatequina por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência acoplada a detector de arranjo de fotodiodos e dicrísmo circular, usando coluna de fase estaconária quiral. O método possui alta seletividade e permite identificar inequivocadamente diastereômeros de catequinas em matrizes complexas como extratos vegetais, com limites de detecção (0,42 a 0,77 μg mL-1 ) e quantificação (1,27 a 2,32 μg mL-1 ) satisfatórios para as condições analisadas, e valores de precisão (0,3 to 4,8%) e exatidão (70,0 a 110,2%) recomendados pela ANVISA. Com exceção da espécie B. intermedia, quatro espécies do gênero apresentaram em seus extratos e infusões os diastereômeros catequina, epicatequina e ent-epicatequina. Experimentos para avaliar a epimerização da catequina indicaram que a incomum ent-epicatequina não é um artefato, podendo ser um produto do metabolismo de espécies do gênero Byrsonima. Enantiômeros da catequina apresentam diferentes atividades farmacológicas, o que pode causar a ocorrência de efeitos colaterais diversos, danosos à saúde humana. Portanto, esses resultados podem alertar quanto ao consumo indiscriminado de plantas medicinais pela população e contribuir para criação de políticas mais rigorosas no controle de qualidade de fitoterápicos no Brasil / Abstract: This work deals with the qualitative and quantitative determination of catechin and epicatechin enantiomers both in extracts and infusions from the leaves of the Byrsonima (Malpighiaceae) species (B.basiloba, B. cocolobifolia, B. crassa, B. intermedia and B. verbascifolia). This work describes a simple and reliable analytical high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method coupled with photodiode array detector and circular dichroism for simultaneous determination of catechin, ent-catechin, epicatechin and ent-epicatechin. The direct separation was obtained in normal phase by HPLC using chiral stationary phase. The method has high selectivity. Regardless of variations in retention time, it was possible to identify unequivocally the enantiomers of catechin and epicatechin in complex matrices like plant extracts with satisfactory limit of detection (0.42 to 0.77 μg mL-1 ) and limite of quantification (1.27 to 2.32 μg mL-1 ). Under the conditions used, precision values were 0.3 to 4.8%, whereas accuracy values were 75.0 to 110.2%, recommended by ANVISA. Aside from B. intermedia specie, the other four Byrsonima species presented catechin, epicatechin and ent-epicatechin diastereomers both in methanolic extract and infusions. Experiments were carried out for verification the possibility of catechin epimerization. It was observed that the unusual ent- epicatechin was not an artifact, but product of Byrsonima species metabolism. Enantiomers of catechin present dissimilar pharmacological activities, which may cause the occurrence of various side effects, harmful to human health. Therefore, these results may warn about the indiscriminate use of medicinal plants by the population and contribute to the quality control of Brazilian herbal medicines / Orientador: Wagner Vilegas / Coorientador: Lourdes Campaner dos Santos / Banca: Mary Rosa Rodrigues de Marchi / Banca: Maysa Furlan / Banca: José Arimatéia Dantas Lopes / Banca: Suzana da Costa Santos / Doutor

Depuis la découverte de la chiralité moléculaire par Pasteur il y a plus de 150 ans, l'origine de l'homochiralité de la vie reste un mystère non résolu et troublant, qui remonte probablement à l'origine de la vie elle-même. Cette énigme a récemment été recensée dans Nature comme étant l’une des cinq plus grandes énigmes non résolues par la science.Aujourd'hui il existe deux façons d’aborder le problème de l'origine de l'asymétrie moléculaire impliquant des scénarios soit déterministes soit aléatoires. Ces derniers étant basés sur la résolution spontanée des énantiomères, et sont donc impossible à tester. En revanche, les théories déterministes peuvent être confrontées à l’expérience afin notamment de valider la reproductibilité de leur influence chirale.Le présent manuscrit est une synthèse bibliographique et expérimentale mettant en évidence les interactions de la LPC avec des molécules chirales dans le cadre de l’origine de l’homochiralité de la vie. Ces travaux ont pour but de mieux comprendre les propriétés chiroptiques de molécules chirales ainsi que de déterminer les espèces chirales susceptibles d'être présentes dans la glace cométaire / Since the Pasteur’s discovery of chirality more than 150 years ago, the origin of homochirality remains to be an unresolved mystery, which is probably linked to the origin of life-itself. This puzzle was named by the journal Nature as one of the five biggest unresolved puzzles in modern science.Today there exist two ways to address the question of the origin of molecular homochirality. It implies either deterministic or chance scenario. The latest is based on the spontaneous resolution of enantiomers by phase transition, and in consequence, it cannot be tested. On the other hand, deterministic theories can be subjected to experimental confirmation, since if there was, in fact, a chiral influence that imposed its chirality this should in principle be reproducible.The presented manuscript is a synthesis of bibliographic research and experimental studies that focus on the interaction of CPL with chiral molecules which are put in the context of the origin of homochirality of life. This work is aiming to advance our understanding of chiroptical properties of chiral molecules as well as to determine chiral species susceptible to be present in cometary ice

Title: Theory of aggregates of photosynthetic molecules: spectroscopy, structure, transport phenomena Author: Ján Lalinský Institute: Institute of Physics of Charles University Supervisor of the master thesis: RNDr. Tomáš Mančal, PhD., Institute of Physics of Charles University Abstract. A theory of absorption of light in an isotropic solution of molecules was formulated on the basis of electromagnetic theory of par- ticles with attention to relativistic nature of their interaction and its im- pact on the spectrum of circular dichroism. Calculations of the absorption spectra of simple systems were performed to demonstrate the properties of the mathematical model. Also calculations of the absorption spectra of the models of the bacteriochlorophyll dimer which were proposed as possible basic unit in the lamellar model of the interior of a chlorosome were performed. The experimental spectra of solution of non-aggregated bacteriochlorophyll were used to fit the parameters of the mathematical model of the molecule and for these parameters the spectra of the pro- posed models of a dimer were calculated. It has been found that the new non-electrostatic terms in the description of the mutual interaction of the parts of the molecule are negligible for calculations of ordinary absorption spectrum, but they have...

Physics and potential applications of femtosecond laser pulses interacting with matter have captured interest in various fields, such as nonlinear optics, laser micromachining, integrated optics, and solar cell technologies. On the one hand, such ultrashort intense pulses make them practical elegant tools to be utilized for direct structuring of materials with high accuracy and numerous potential applications. On the other hand, studying the fundamental aspects and nonlinear nature of such interactions opens new remarkable venues for various unique investigations. In recent years, the emerging topic of structured light (also known as twisted or optical vortex light), i.e., a beam of light with a twisted wave-front that can carry orbital angular momentum (OAM), has attracted the attention of many researchers working in the field of light-matter interaction. Such beams offer various applications from classical and quantum communication to imaging, micro/nano-manipulation, and modification of fundamental processes involved in light-matter interactions, e.g., absorption and emission. Nevertheless, the fabrication of complex structures, controlled modification, and achieving a high spatial resolution in material processing still remain in the spotlight. Moreover, the fundamental role of orbital angular momentum in the nonlinear absorption of materials, particularly in solids, has yet remained a subject of debate. Addressing these points was the main motive behind this dissertation. To accomplish this objective and investigate new aspects of structured light-matter interaction, I conducted various experiments, the results of which are presented in this work. The general idea was to study the interaction of femtosecond laser radiation, having a structured phase and polarization, with the matter in two aspects: (i) surface morphology modification and (ii) nonlinear absorption of solids. In this regard, I studied surface processing of crystalline silicon and CVD diamond with femtosecond laser vortex pulses generated by a birefringent phase-plate, known as q-plate, in single and multiple pulse irradiation regimes, respectively. The characterization of the modified region was performed using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). I demonstrated that upon irradiation of a single vortex pulse on silicon, a nano-cone structure is formed within the ablated crater, whose height was independent of the helicity of the twisted light. However, for a linearly polarized vortex pulse, the height of the nano-cone decreases at higher pulse energies. The dynamics of nano-cone formation and the role of polarization were also investigated by simulating the mass transport function in this process. Moreover, using superimposed vortex beams, we fabricated complex patterns containing several nano-cones, by single-shot irradiation on the silicon surface. My experimental results offer an ability to actively control and manipulate material, in terms of the nanocones position, in two dimensions with an ultra-high resolution. I further proceeded with our experiments in the multiple pulse regime on a diamond target. By irradiation of a high number of superimposed vortex pulses, I was able to imprint complex polarization states of structured light on the target surface in the form of periodic nano-ripples. This procedure enabled us to not only generate spatially varying nano-gratings but also directly visualize and study very complex states of polarization. Besides these surface structuring, I carried out experimental studies to investigate the response of bulk material to an incident circularly polarized vortex beam that carries orbital angular momentum. The experimental results reveal, for the first time, that such an interaction can produce a differential absorption that gives rise to helical dichroism. We demonstrate that this response is sensitive to the handedness and degree of the twist in the incident vortex beam. Such a dichroism effect may be attributed to the excitation of dipole-forbidden atomic transitions, e.g., electric quadrupole transitions. However, this explanation is not absolute and remains open to further research and investigations.

Thermal instability in the toxin catalytic subunit may be a common property of toxins that exit the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by exploiting the mechanism of ER-associated degradation (ERAD). The Haemophilus ducreyi cytolethal distending toxin (HdCDT) does not utilize ERAD to exit the ER, so we predicted the structural properties of its catalytic subunit (HdCdtB) would differ from other ER-translocating toxins. Here, we document the heat-stable properties of HdCdtB which distinguish it from other ER-translocating toxins. Cell-based assays further suggested that HdCdtB does not unfold before exiting the ER and that it may move directly from the ER lumen to the nucleoplasm. These observations suggest a novel mode of ER exit for HdCdtB.

Zinc is an essential metal ion for the activity of multiple enzymes and transcription factors. Among many other transporting proteins human serum albumin (HSA) is the main carrier of Zn(II) in the blood plasma. HSA displays multiple ligand binding sites with extraordinary binding capacity for a wide range of ions and molecules including fatty acids. Hence, HSA controls the availability and distribution of those molecules throughout the body. Previous studies have established that the existence of one zinc site with high affinity (MBS-A) that is modulated by the presence of fatty acids. Therefore, the fatty acid concentration in the blood influences zinc distribution which may result in a significant effect on both normal physiological processes and a range of diseases. Based on the current knowledge of HSA's structure and its coordination chemistry with zinc ion, here, we attempted to investigate zinc interactions and coordination with HSA and the effect of different fatty acids on the protein structure, stability and on Zn(II) binding. By NMR titration, we examine the Zn(II) binding to HSA and the spectra show distinct movements of some resonances showing a conformational change has occurred as a result of Zn(II) binding. Isothermal calorimetry titrations study was performed to evaluate zinc binding affinity to HSA in the absence and presence of fatty acids. Free HSA results indicates the existence of one high affinity site and multiple low affinity sites. Upon the binding of fatty acids to HSA, three distinct behaviors of Zn(II) affinity was observed ranging from no effect to moderate to significant depending on the FAs. By the use of circular dichroism, we investigate secondary and tertiary structure of HSA in the presence and absence of FAs and Zn(II). We found albumin is predominately α-helical and the overall conformation of the protein remains unchanged even after interacting with FAs and Zn(II) with some exception. The structural stability of HSA was evaluated by obtaining the denaturation temperature in the presence and absence of fatty acid and we found the thermal denaturation of HSA increases with the increase of amount of fatty acids.

Les quadruplexes de guanines (G4) sont des structures d’ADN non-canoniques qui résultent de l’empilement hydrophobe de tétrades de guanines, stabilisé par des cations métalliques (tels que Na+ et K+). Il existe aujourd’hui un nombre croissant de preuves expérimentales qui attestent de l’implication des G4 dans d’importantes fonctions cellulaires corrélées à leur mécanisme de repliement/dépliement. Toutefois, très peu d’études ont abordé les aspects dynamiques de leur formation. Aussi, nous avons entrepris l’étude de plusieurs G4 mono-moléculaires à l’aide d’une nouvelle extension d’expériences de saut de température, capable de mesurer la dynamique de dénaturation thermique et de renaturation consécutive de l’ADN, sur une fenêtre temporelle allant de quelques millisecondes aux secondes. Les changements conformationnels ont été sondés par dichroïsme circulaire (CD) résolu en temps, connu pour être très sensible à l’arrangement des guanines dans les G4. Au préalable des études résolues en temps, en collaboration avec DISCO/SOLEIL, nous avons mesuré les spectres CD statiques de différentes séquences G4 présentant des topologies distinctes, comme celles des télomères humains, de l’aptamère de la thrombine ou des promoteurs de c-MYC. Nous avons observé des cinétiques de dénaturation et renaturation biphasiques avec des constantes de temps de quelques centaines de millisecondes et quelques secondes. Ces cinétiques dépendent fortement de l’amplitude du saut de température et de la concentration de cations métalliques. L’ensemble de ces observations suggère l’existence de plusieurs voies de repliement/dépliement des G4 sur des surfaces de potentiel très rugueuses. / Guanine-quadruplexes (G4) are non-canonical DNA structures that result from the hydrophobic stacking of guanine quartets stabilized by metal cations (typically Na+ and K+). There is now an increasing body of experimental evidence of their occurrence in important cell functions correlated to their folding/unfolding mechanisms. However, only few studies have addressed the dynamical aspect of their formation. In this context, we have undertaken the study of several intramolecular G4 with a novel extension of temperature-jump experiments capable to measure the thermal denaturation and the consecutive renaturation of DNA over a time window spanning a few ten milliseconds to seconds. Conformational changes have been monitored by time-resolved circular dichroism (CD), which is known to be sensitive to the chiral arrangement of guanines in the G4 scaffolds.Prior to time-resolved measurements, within the frame of a collaboration with DISCO/SOLEIL, we have performed static synchrotron radiation CD measurements on several short G4-forming sequences, such as human telomere, thrombin-binding aptamer and c-MYC promoter sequences, displaying distinct topologies. Denaturation and renaturation kinetics are found to exhibit biphasic decays with time constants of a few hundred milliseconds and a few seconds, respectively. Those kinetics depend strongly on the amplitude of the temperature jump and the concentration of cations. Taken together these observations suggest the existence of multiple folding pathways on extremely rugged landscapes.

Spiders are capable of producing a variety of silk types, each with their own unique protein composition and function. Dragline silk in particular, has been of great interest due to its high tensile strength and extensibility. In the past, synthetically produced dragline fibers have not been able to match the superior properties of natural silk. A recent discovery in the western black widow spider, Latrodectus hesperus, might be the missing link between the current state of synthetic silks and naturally produced fibers. Our research is centered around the discovery a new family of five low-molecular-weight cysteine-rich proteins (CRPs) and their potential function within dragline silk. This study focuses on the characterization of recombinantly expressed CRP1, CRP2, and CRP4. Through structural analysis using circular dichroism, it has been determined that the CRP family members have mostly alpha-helical secondary structure and exhibit small differences in their ability to maintain their structure in the presence of changing environmental conditions. The study also covers the effects of temperature and pH on the folding and unfolding of the CRPs. It appears that pH is the dominant influence on protein unfolding within the major ampullate gland.