Ivan Valent

Mechanism of rhodamine 6G molecular aggregation in montmorillonite colloid

AbstractStopped-flow mixing device and visible absorption spectroscopy were used for the analysis of dye rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecular aggregation in the colloids based on Na-saturated montmorillonite. Two stages of the reaction were identified: The first stage was very short and taking only several seconds, involving the adsorption of R6G cations and their initial aggregation on the surface of colloid particles. The initially formed J-aggregates exhibited similar spectral properties as monomeric form of R6G. In the second stage, initially formed aggregates converted to sandwich-type H-aggregates absorbing light at significantly lower wavelengths and adsorbed monomers. The aggregate rearrangement took several hours. Monomers, with the spectral properties identical to R6G solution, were also identified as a component in complex spectra using principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate curve resolution (MCR). Partial bleaching of the dye was also proven. Reaction kinetics of the rearrangement of the aggregates followed the model considering a complex mechanism of the molecular aggregation. Data fits using stretched-exponential function led to the determination of rate constants, which had been in the range 10−3−4×10−3s−1.

Frequency and release flux of calcium sparks in rat cardiac myocytes: a relation to RYR gating

Cytosolic calcium concentration in resting cardiac myocytes locally fluctuates as a result of spontaneous microscopic Ca2+ releases or abruptly rises as a result of an external trigger. These processes, observed as calcium sparks, are fundamental for proper function of cardiac muscle. In this study, we analyze how the characteristics of spontaneous and triggered calcium sparks are related to cardiac ryanodine receptor (RYR) gating. We show that the frequency of spontaneous sparks and the probability distribution of calcium release flux quanta of triggered sparks correspond quantitatively to predictions of an allosteric homotetrameric model of RYR gating. This model includes competitive binding of Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions to the RYR activation sites and allosteric interaction between divalent ion binding and channel opening. It turns out that at rest, RYRs are almost fully occupied by Mg2+. Therefore, spontaneous sparks are most frequently evoked by random openings of the highly populated but rarely opening Mg4RYR and CaMg3RYR forms, whereas triggered sparks are most frequently evoked by random openings of the less populated but much more readily opening Ca2Mg2RYR and Ca3MgRYR forms. In both the spontaneous and the triggered sparks, only a small fraction of RYRs in the calcium release unit manages to open during the spark because of the limited rate of Mg2+ unbinding. This mechanism clarifies the unexpectedly low calcium release flux during elementary release events and unifies the theory of calcium signaling in resting and contracting cardiac myocytes.

Numerical simulations of the oxygen production in the oscillating Bray-Liebhafsky reaction

Abstract Numerical simulations of the oxygen production in the batch Bray–Liebhafsky (BL) oscillating reaction were performed. The dynamic behaviour of the BL reaction was modelled by a scheme suggested by Schmitz and Kolar-Anic, complemented by the physical processes of iodine and oxygen interphase transport. The calculated number and periods of oscillations of the rate of the gaseous oxygen production are in satisfactory agreement with experiment. Oscillations in iodate concentration have been found if some escape of iodine from the batch reactor was allowed.

Ryanodine receptor gating controls generation of diastolic calcium waves in cardiac myocytes

Calcium waves can form and propagate at low frequencies of spontaneous calcium sparks if the calcium dependence of spark frequency is sufficiently steep, or the number of open RyRs is sufficiently large.

Electrodiffusion Kinetics of Ionic Transport in a Simple Membrane Channel

We employ numerical techniques for solving time-dependent full Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) equations in 2D to analyze transient behavior of a simple ion channel subject to a sudden electric potential jump across the membrane (voltage clamp). Calculated spatiotemporal profiles of the ionic concentrations and electric potential show that two principal exponential processes can be distinguished in the electrodiffusion kinetics, in agreement with original Plancks predictions. The initial fast process corresponds to the dielectric relaxation, while the steady state is approached in a second slower exponential process attributed to the nonlinear ionic redistribution. Effects of the model parameters such as the channel length, height of the potential step, boundary concentrations, permittivity of the channel interior, and ionic mobilities on electrodiffusion kinetics are studied. Numerical solutions are used to determine spatiotemporal profiles of the electric field, ionic fluxes, and both the conductive and displacement currents. We demonstrate that the displacement current is a significant transient component of the total electric current through the channel. The presented results provide additional information about the classical voltage-clamp problem and offer further physical insights into the mechanism of electrodiffusion. The used numerical approach can be readily extended to multi-ionic models with a more structured domain geometry in 2D or 3D, and it is directly applicable to other systems, such as synthetic nanopores, nanofluidic channels, and nanopipettes.

Preparation of d-galactofuranosyl nitromethanes: a revision and a new approach

Sodium methoxide-promoted methanolysis of 7-deoxy-7-nitro-L-glycero-L-galacto-heptitol peracetate rapidly and nearly quantitatively accumulates 7-deoxy-6-O-methyl-7-nitro-L-glycero-L-galacto-heptitol. The prolonged treatment then provides 76% of D-galactofuranosyl nitromethanes and finally results in the equilibrium of 77% of β-D-galactopyranosyl nitromethane and 7-9% of three other tautomeric D-galactosyl nitromethanes. Thermal treatment of 7-deoxy-7-nitro-L-glycero-L-galacto-heptitol in boiling water peaks at a 58% content of D-galactofuranosyl nitromethanes and ends in a similar equilibrium mixture of four D-galactosyl tautomers. The relevant kinetic parameters of the latter transformation are determined by a curve fitting using the nonlinear least-squares Marquardt-Levenberg algorithm.

Kinetics of the manganese(III)-oxalate reaction in acidic sulphate media

SummaryThe kinetics of the reaction of manganese(III) with oxalic acid (OA) has been studied in H2SO4 solutions. Under the experimental conditions of 6 × 10−3 < [OA]0 < 0.4 mol dm−3 and [H2SO4]0 ⩾ 0.2 mol dm−3 the observed pseudo-first order rate constant kobs follows the expression

Solvent effect on the kinetics of oxidation of [Co(en)2amS]2+ by IO4−

k_{obs} = k_1 + k_2 K_2 \left[ {C_2 O_4^{2 - } } \right]/\left\{ {1 + K_2 \left[ {C_2 O_4^{2 - } } \right]} \right\}