scholarly journals X-Ray Studies of the Liquid/Vapor Interface: Water and Polymer and Fatty Acid Monolayers on Water

1989 ◽  
Vol 177 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Schlossman ◽  
D. K. Schwartz ◽  
E. H. Kawamoto ◽  
G. J. Kellogg ◽  
P. S. Pershan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
Surface Pressure ◽  
Capillary Wave ◽  
Pure Water ◽  
Wave Theory ◽  
Lignoceric Acid ◽  
Vapor Interface ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Surface Normal

ABSTRACTX-ray specular reflectivity is used to study the liquid-vapor interface of pure water and of fatty acid and polymer monolayers at that interface. For the pure water surface the reflectivity was measured for three different spectrometer resolutions and simultaneous fits with only one free parameter to all of the data are in excellent agreement with the prediction of capillary wave theory for the RMS surface roughness. Diffuse scattering away from the specular condition, at wavevectors corresponding to those of the capillary waves, yields intensities and line shapes in agreement with theory with no significant adjustable parameters. Reflectivity from separate monolayers of co-poly 1,2-butadiene/butyl alcohol (50% random substitution) and lignoceric acid (CH3(CH2)22COOH) at the water/vapor interface are interpreted to obtain profiles of the average electron density ρ(z) as a function of distance z along the surface normal. For the polymer monolayer we find the following: 1) a local maximum in the electron density approximately 10% larger than that of the bulk polymer and 2) the RMS roughness of the vapor/polymer interface agrees with capillary wave theory predictions for the lower surface pressures. For the highest surface pressure the RMS roughness exceeds the value predicted by the capillary wave model. Measurements of reflectivity from a lignoceric acid monolayer, as a function of surface pressure throughout an isotherm (near room temperature), reveal the following behavior: 1) the overall thickness of the monolayer increases with increasing pressure and 2) the head groups occupy a progressively larger region along the surface normal as the pressure increases, indicating that they rearrange normal to the interface.

scholarly journals High-resolution neutron and X-ray diffraction room-temperature studies of an H-FABP–oleic acid complex: study of the internal water cluster and ligand binding by a transferred multipolar electron-density distribution

IUCrJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. I. Howard ◽  
B. Guillot ◽  
M. P. Blakeley ◽  
M. Haertlein ◽  
M. Moulin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oleic Acid ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Density Distribution ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
Electron Density Distribution ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Water Molecules ◽  
X Ray

Crystal diffraction data of heart fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) in complex with oleic acid were measured at room temperature with high-resolution X-ray and neutron protein crystallography (0.98 and 1.90 Å resolution, respectively). These data provided very detailed information about the cluster of water molecules and the bound oleic acid in the H-FABP large internal cavity. The jointly refined X-ray/neutron structure of H-FABP was complemented by a transferred multipolar electron-density distribution using the parameters of the ELMAMII library. The resulting electron density allowed a precise determination of the electrostatic potential in the fatty acid (FA) binding pocket. Bader's quantum theory of atoms in molecules was then used to study interactions involving the internal water molecules, the FA and the protein. This approach showed H...H contacts of the FA with highly conserved hydrophobic residues known to play a role in the stabilization of long-chain FAs in the binding cavity. The determination of water hydrogen (deuterium) positions allowed the analysis of the orientation and electrostatic properties of the water molecules in the very ordered cluster. As a result, a significant alignment of the permanent dipoles of the water molecules with the protein electrostatic field was observed. This can be related to the dielectric properties of hydration layers around proteins, where the shielding of electrostatic interactions depends directly on the rotational degrees of freedom of the water molecules in the interface.

x-ray Surface Scattering Studies of Molecular Ordering at Liquid-Liquid Interfaces

1999 ◽  
Vol 590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L. Schlossman ◽  
Ming Li ◽  
Dragoslav M. Mitrinovic ◽  
Aleksey M. Tikhonov
Keyword(s):  
Chain Length ◽  
Capillary Wave ◽  
Potassium Phosphate ◽  
Wave Theory ◽  
Electron Density Profile ◽  
Surface Scattering ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Liquid Interfaces ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Molecular Ordering

ABSTRACTWe present our recent progress in using synchrotron x-ray surface scattering techniques to study several different aspects of ordering at liquid-liquid interfaces. (1) We present measurements of the interfacial width at the water-alkane interface for a series of different chain length alkanes. The width for the shortest chain length studied is in agreement with capillary wave theory. However, significant deviations occur for longer chain lengths, indicating the presence of molecular ordering at the interface. (2) Under appropriate conditions, a surfactant monolayer forms at the interface between water and a hexane solution of a fluorinated surfactant. Reflectivity measurements that probe the electron density profile normal to the interface provide information about the surfactant ordering. This monolayer undergoes a solid to gas transition as a function of temperature. Diffuse scattering near the transition reveals the presence of islands. (3) Equilibrium interfaces between two aqueous phases containing PEG (polyethylene glycol) and potassium phosphate salts can be studied. We present studies of coherent capillary wave fluctuations between two interfaces of a thin film of this biphase system. We also demonstrate that biological macromolecules can be trapped and studied at this aqueous-aqueous interface.

White-Light Coronal Structures: Streamers and CMEs

1994 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
E. Hildner
Keyword(s):  
Emission Line ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
White Light ◽  
Coronal Mass Ejections ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Solar Cycles ◽  
Temperature Function ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Eclipse Observations ◽  
Coronal Structures

AbstractOver the last twenty years, orbiting coronagraphs have vastly increased the amount of observational material for the whitelight corona. Spanning almost two solar cycles, and augmented by ground-based K-coronameter, emission-line, and eclipse observations, these data allow us to assess,inter alia: the typical and atypical behavior of the corona; how the corona evolves on time scales from minutes to a decade; and (in some respects) the relation between photospheric, coronal, and interplanetary features. This talk will review recent results on these three topics. A remark or two will attempt to relate the whitelight corona between 1.5 and 6 R⊙to the corona seen at lower altitudes in soft X-rays (e.g., with Yohkoh). The whitelight emission depends only on integrated electron density independent of temperature, whereas the soft X-ray emission depends upon the integral of electron density squared times a temperature function. The properties of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) will be reviewed briefly and their relationships to other solar and interplanetary phenomena will be noted.

A study on α-RuCl3 crystal structure by scanning tunneling microscopy

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 30-31
Author(s):  
H.-J. Cantow ◽  
H. Hillebrecht ◽  
S. Magonov ◽  
H. W. Rotter ◽  
G. Thiele
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structure ◽  
Density Distribution ◽  
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
Structure Determination ◽  
Electron Density Distribution ◽  
Scanning Tunneling ◽  
Monoclinic Space Group ◽  
Tunneling Microscopy ◽  
X Ray

From X-ray analysis, the conclusions are drawn from averaged molecular informations. Thus, limitations are caused when analyzing systems whose symmetry is reduced due to interatomic interactions. In contrast, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) directly images atomic scale surface electron density distribution, with a resolution up to fractions of Angstrom units. The crucial point is the correlation between the electron density distribution and the localization of individual atoms, which is reasonable in many cases. Thus, the use of STM images for crystal structure determination may be permitted. We tried to apply RuCl3 - a layered material with semiconductive properties - for such STM studies. From the X-ray analysis it has been assumed that α-form of this compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/m (AICI3 type). The chlorine atoms form an almost undistorted cubic closed package while Ru occupies 2/3 of the octahedral holes in every second layer building up a plane hexagon net (graphite net). Idealizing the arrangement of the chlorines a hexagonal symmetry would be expected. X-ray structure determination of isotypic compounds e.g. IrBr3 leads only to averaged positions of the metal atoms as there exist extended stacking faults of the metal layers.

A synchrotron X-ray study of the electron density in C-type rare earth oxides

1996 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 414-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. N. Maslen ◽  
V. A. Streltsov ◽  
N. Ishizawa
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Rare Earth ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
Approximate Symmetry ◽  
Data Set ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Metal Atoms ◽  
Structure Factors ◽  
Deformation Electron Density ◽  
Synthetic Crystals

Structure factors for small synthetic crystals of the C-type rare earth (RE) sesquioxides Y2O3, Dy2O3 and Ho2O3 were measured with focused λ = 0.7000 (2) Å, synchrotron X-radiation, and for Ho2O3 were re-measured with an MoKα (λ = 0.71073 Å) source. Approximate symmetry in the deformation electron density (Δρ) around a RE atom with pseudo-octahedral O coordination matches the cation geometry. Interactions between heavy metal atoms have a pronounced effect on the Δρ map. The electron-density symmetry around a second RE atom is also perturbed significantly by cation–anion interactions. The compounds magnetic properties reflect this complexity. Space group Ia{\bar 3}, cubic, Z = 16, T = 293 K: Y2O3, Mr = 225.82, a = 10.5981 (7) Å, V = 1190.4 (2) Å3, Dx = 5.040 Mg m−3, μ 0.7 = 37.01 mm−1, F(000) = 1632, R = 0.067, wR = 0.067, S = 9.0 (2) for 1098 unique reflections; Dy2O3, Mr = 373.00, a = 10.6706 (7) Å, V = 1215.0 (2) Å3, Dx = 8.156 Mg m−3, μ 0.7 = 44.84 mm−1, F(000) = 2496, R = 0.056, wR = 0.051, S = 7.5 (2) for 1113 unique reflections; Ho2O3, Mr = 377.86, a = 10.606 (2) Å, V = 1193.0 (7) Å3, Dx = 8.415 Mg m−3, μ 0.7 = 48.51 mm−1 F(000) = 2528, R = 0.072, wR = 0.045, S = 9.2 (2) for 1098 unique reflections of the synchrotron data set.

Resolution of a protein sequence ambiguity by X-ray crystallographic and mass spectrometric methods

1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Keefe ◽  
E. E. Lattman ◽  
C. Wolkow ◽  
A. Woods ◽  
M. Chevrier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Electron Density ◽  
Mass Spectrometric ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Data Matrix ◽  
Protein Crystal ◽  
Insertion Mutant ◽  
Laser Desorption Mass Spectrometry ◽  
X Ray

Ambiguities in amino acid sequences are a potential problem in X-ray crystallographic studies of proteins. Amino acid side chains often cannot be reliably identified from the electron density. Many protein crystal structures that are now being solved are simple variants of a known wild-type structure. Thus, cloning artifacts or other untoward events can readily lead to cases in which the proposed sequence is not correct. An example is presented showing that mass spectrometry provides an excellent tool for analyzing suspected errors. The X-ray crystal structure of an insertion mutant of Staphylococcal nuclease has been solved to 1.67 Å resolution and refined to a crystallographic R value of 0.170 [Keefe & Lattman (1992). In preparation]. A single residue has been inserted in the C-terminal α helix. The inserted amino acid was believed to be an alanine residue, but the final electron density maps strongly indicated that a glycine had been inserted instead. To confirm the observations from the X-ray data, matrix-assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry was employed to verify the glycine insertion. This mass spectrometric technique has sufficient mass accuracy to detect the methyl group that distinguishes glycine from alanine and can be extended to the more common situation in which crystallographic measurements suggest a problem with the sequence, but cannot pinpoint its location or nature.

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