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Results for “supramolecular structures and assemblies”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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5 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Characterization of photosystem 1 chlorophyll a/b-binding apoprotein accumulation in developing soybean using type-specific antibodies

The structure and supramolecular assembly of the soybean photosystem 1 (PS 1) chlorophyll a/b-binding antenna (LHC 1) was examined. We identified the subunit composition of LHC 1 in soybean and followed the accumulation of individual subunits during light-induced assembly. We observed four LHC 1 subunits, at 23, 22, 21 and 20.5 kDa, obtained partial sequence information by amino-terminal sequence analysis, and classified the 20.5, 22, and 21 kDa subunits as being encoded by type I, II, and IV chlorophyll a/b binding protein genes, respectively. Antisera against LHC 1 subunits were used to follow the accumulation of individual subunits during the light-initiated transition from etioplast to chloroplast. Several points are noteworthy. First, monospecific antibody against the 22 kDa subunit decorated a 25 kDa peptide in etiolated tissue, which declined during maturation. This decline correlated with the light-induced appearance of mature 22 kDa peptide, suggesting a precursor/product relationship. Second, the same antibody identified a 22 kDa protein in mature corn, but not a larger band in etiolated corn, suggesting that LHC 1 accumulation is regulated differently between species before the onset of chlorophyll biosynthesis. Third, the mature 22 kDa subunit appeared somewhat later than the other LHC 1 peptides during greening, implying that this subunit is less intimately associated with the PS1 core than are the subunits appearing earlier in development.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS2003

Diels-Alder Trapping of Photochemically Generated o-Xylenols: Application in the Synthesis of Novel Organic Molecules and Polymers

Bis(o-xylenol) equivalents are useful synthetic intermediates in the construction of polymers and hydroxyl substituted organic molecules which can organize by hydrogen bonded self-assembly into unique supramolecular structures. These polymers and supramolecular materials have potential use as coatings and thin films in aerospace, electronic and biomedical applications.

Meador, Michael A.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Differential assembly of alpha- and gamma-filagenins into thick filaments in Caenorhabditis elegans

Muscle thick filaments are highly organized supramolecular assemblies of myosin and associated proteins with lengths, diameters and flexural rigidities characteristic of their source. The cores of body wall muscle thick filaments of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans are tubular structures of paramyosin sub-filaments coupled by filagenins and have been proposed to serve as templates for the assembly of native thick filaments. We have characterized alpha- and gamma-filagenins, two novel proteins of the cores with calculated molecular masses of 30,043 and 19,601 and isoelectric points of 10.52 and 11.49, respectively. Western blot and immunoelectron microscopy using affinity-purified antibodies confirmed that the two proteins are core components. Immunoelectron microscopy of the cores revealed that they assemble with different periodicities. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that alpha-filagenin is localized in the medial regions of the A-bands of body wall muscle cells whereas gamma-filagenin is localized in the flanking regions, and that alpha-filagenin is expressed in 1.5-twofold embryos while gamma-filagenin becomes detectable only in late vermiform embryos. The expression of both proteins continues throughout later stages of development. C. elegans body wall muscle thick filaments of these developmental stages have distinct lengths. Our results suggest that the differential assembly of alpha- and gamma-filagenins into thick filaments of distinct lengths may be developmentally regulated.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗
NASA NTRS2005

Polymer Crosslinked 3-D Assemblies of Nanoparticles: Mechanically Strong Lightweight Porous Materials

In analogy to supramolecular assemblies, which are pursued because of properties above and beyond those of the individual molecules, self-standing monolithic three-dimensional assemblies of nanoparticles also have unique properties attributed to their structure. For example, ultra low-density 3-D assemblies of silica nanoparticles, known as silica aerogels, are characterized by large internal void space, high surface area and very low thermal conductivity. Aerogels, however, are also extremely fragile materials, limiting their application to a few specialized environments, e.g., in nuclear reactors as Cerenkov radiation detectors, in space (refer to NASA's Stardust Program) and aboard certain planetary vehicles (thermal insulators on Mars Rovers in 1997 and 2004). The fragility problem is traced to well-defined weak points in the aerogel skeletal framework, the interparticle necks. Using the surface functionality of the nanoparticle building blocks as a focal point, we have directed attachment of a conformal polymer coating over the entire framework, rendering all necks wider. Thus, although the bulk density may increase only by 3x, the mesoporosity (pores in the range 2-50 nm) remains unchanged, while the strength of the material increases by up to 300... Having addressed the fragility problem, aerogels are now robust materials, and a variety of applications, ranging from thermal/acoustic insulators to catalyst supports, to platform for sensors, and dielectrics are all within reach. Our approach employs molecular science to manipulate nanoscopic matter for achieving useful macroscopic properties, and in our view it resides at the core of what defines nanotechnology. In that spirit, this technology is expandable in three directions. Thus, we have already crosslinked successfully amine-modified silica, and we anticipate that more rich chemistry will be realized by been creative with the nanoparticle surface modifiers. On the other hand, although we do not expect orders-of-magnitude increase in strength, nevertheless, by varying the polymer we expect to impart other properties such as hydrophobicity, thermal stability and perhaps electrical conductivity. Besides polymers, crosslinkers will include metals and ceramics (e.g., through POSS precursors). Finally, network morphology directs load dissipation, and of approximately 30 different crosslinked oxide aerogels, vanadia, whose structure is fibrous rather than particulate, yields a much stronger (by 4..) material than silica of the same density. It seems imperative to implement control of network morphology, even through templating.

Leventis, Nicholas↗
NASA NTRS1998

A Synthesis of Fluid Dynamics and Quantum Chemistry for the Design of Nanoelectronics

In 1959, during a famous lecture entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", Richard Feynman focused on the startling technical possibilities that would exist at the limit of miniaturization, that being atomically precise devices with dimensions in the nanometer range. A nanometer is both a convenient unit of length for medium to large sized molecules, and the root of the name of the new interdisciplinary field of "nanotechnology". Essentially, "nanoelectronics" denotes the goal of shrinking electronic devices, such as diodes and transistors, as well as integrated circuits of such devices that can perform logical operations, down to dimensions in the range of 100 nanometers. The thirty-year hiatus in the development of nanotechnology can figuratively be seen as a period of waiting for the bottom-up and atomically precise construction skills of synthetic chemistry to meet the top-down reductionist aspirations of device physics. The sub-nanometer domain of nineteenth-century classical chemistry has steadily grown, and state-of-the-art supramolecular chemistry can achieve atomic precision in non-repeating molecular assemblies of the size desired for nanotechnology. For nanoelectronics in particular, a basic understanding of the electron transport properties of molecules must also be developed. Quantum chemistry provides powerful computational methods that can accurately predict the properties of small to medium sized molecules on a desktop workstation, and those of large molecules if one has access to a supercomputer. Of the many properties of a molecule that quantum chemistry routinely predicts, the ability to carry a current is one that had not even been considered until recently. "Currently", there is a controversy over just how to define this key property. Reminiscent of the situation in high-Tc superconductivity, much of the difficulty arises from the different models that are used to simplify the complex electronic structure of real materials. A model-independent approach has been proposed, that sacrifices the plentiful molecular orbitals and Bloch functions of conventional approaches, for a single three-dimensional observable quantity, the electron momentum density Pi(sub rho). This quantity is simply the probability of any electron having momentum rho, multiplied by the total number of electrons in the system (the position of the electron is uncertain). We have explored the utility of this new approach in providing a fundamental understanding of the electron transport properties of molecules that have provi been nominated as candidates for components in the design of nanoelectronics; phenylene-ethynylene oligomers. Some of the molecular systems that have been studied are sketched below.

MacDougall, Preston J.↗