Harden M. McConnell

Bio: Harden M. McConnell is an academic researcher from Stanford University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Membrane & Monolayer. The author has an hindex of 98, co-authored 411 publications receiving 38755 citations. Previous affiliations of Harden M. McConnell include Becton Dickinson & California Institute of Technology.

Reaction Rates by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Abstract: The Bloch equations for nuclear magnetic resonance are modified to describe the magnetic resonance of a single nuclear species X which is transferred back and forth between two (or more) magnetic environments (A,B) by kinetic molecular processes. The modified Bloch equations involve the usual assumptions of the Bloch theory and, in addition, require (a) that the X nuclear relaxation times be independent of the molecular exchange rates, and (b) that the X nuclear magnetization in A relax independently of the X magnetization in B, and vice versa. The modified Bloch equations are easily solved in the slow passage case, with arbitrary rf saturation. Earlier relations between reaction rates, and resonance line shapes, which were developed by Gutowsky, McCall, and Slichter, and extended by a number of other investigators, are easily derived using the modified Bloch equations. In the present work the modified equations are used to show how rapid exchange rates can sometimes be measured in solutions where the X r...

Intramolecular Charge Transfer in Aromatic Free Radicals

Abstract: A theoretical analysis is made of the rate of intramolecular transfer of the odd electron between the two phenyl groups in the mononegative ions of the α,ω‐diphenyalkanes, φ—(CH2)n—φ. The essential features of the calculations are: (a) It is shown that the polymethylene chain can be replaced by a pseudopotential corresponding to an effective direct transfer between the rings. (b) There is a strong tendency for self‐trapping of the odd electron on one phenyl ring, or the other, due to solvent polarization and bond distortions in the rings. This self‐trapping greatly reduces the rate of intramolecular charge transfer. (c) The intramolecular charge transfer occurs as an electronic resonance effect when a short‐lived thermally activated molecular state is formed in which the two rings appear to the odd electron to be equivalent to one another. The activation energy is estimated to be of the order of 1000 cm—1. (d) It is found that the rate of intramolecular charge transfer decreases exponentially with the length of the polymethylene chain, the decrease being as much or more than a factor of ten for each added methylene group.

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Abstract: 抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

The fluid mosaic model of the structure of cell membranes.

Abstract: A fluid mosaic model is presented for the gross organization and structure of the proteins and lipids of biological membranes. The model is consistent with the restrictions imposed by thermodynamics. In this model, the proteins that are integral to the membrane are a heterogeneous set of globular molecules, each arranged in an amphipathic structure, that is, with the ionic and highly polar groups protruding from the membrane into the aqueous phase, and the nonpolar groups largely buried in the hydrophobic interior of the membrane. These globular molecules are partially embedded in a matrix of phospholipid. The bulk of the phospholipid is organized as a discontinuous, fluid bilayer, although a small fraction of the lipid may interact specifically with the membrane proteins. The fluid mosaic structure is therefore formally analogous to a two-dimensional oriented solution of integral proteins (or lipoproteins) in the viscous phospholipid bilayer solvent. Recent experiments with a wide variety of techniqes and several different membrane systems are described, all of which abet consistent with, and add much detail to, the fluid mosaic model. It therefore seems appropriate to suggest possible mechanisms for various membrane functions and membrane-mediated phenomena in the light of the model. As examples, experimentally testable mechanisms are suggested for cell surface changes in malignant transformation, and for cooperative effects exhibited in the interactions of membranes with some specific ligands. Note added in proof: Since this article was written, we have obtained electron microscopic evidence (69) that the concanavalin A binding sites on the membranes of SV40 virus-transformed mouse fibroblasts (3T3 cells) are more clustered than the sites on the membranes of normal cells, as predicted by the hypothesis represented in Fig. 7B. T-here has also appeared a study by Taylor et al. (70) showing the remarkable effects produced on lymphocytes by the addition of antibodies directed to their surface immunoglobulin molecules. The antibodies induce a redistribution and pinocytosis of these surface immunoglobulins, so that within about 30 minutes at 37 degrees C the surface immunoglobulins are completely swept out of the membrane. These effects do not occur, however, if the bivalent antibodies are replaced by their univalent Fab fragments or if the antibody experiments are carried out at 0 degrees C instead of 37 degrees C. These and related results strongly indicate that the bivalent antibodies produce an aggregation of the surface immunoglobulin molecules in the plane of the membrane, which can occur only if the immunoglobulin molecules are free to diffuse in the membrane. This aggregation then appears to trigger off the pinocytosis of the membrane components by some unknown mechanism. Such membrane transformations may be of crucial importance in the induction of an antibody response to an antigen, as well as iv other processes of cell differentiation.

Nanotube molecular wires as chemical sensors

Abstract: Chemical sensors based on individual single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are demonstrated. Upon exposure to gaseous molecules such as NO 2 or NH 3 , the electrical resistance of a semiconducting SWNT is found to dramatically increase or decrease. This serves as the basis for nanotube molecular sensors. The nanotube sensors exhibit a fast response and a substantially higher sensitivity than that of existing solid-state sensors at room temperature. Sensor reversibility is achieved by slow recovery under ambient conditions or by heating to high temperatures. The interactions between molecular species and SWNTs and the mechanisms of molecular sensing with nanotube molecular wires are investigated.

Nanowire Nanosensors for Highly Sensitive and Selective Detection of Biological and Chemical Species

Abstract: Boron-doped silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were used to create highly sensitive, real-time electrically based sensors for biological and chemical species. Amine- and oxide-functionalized SiNWs exhibit pH-dependent conductance that was linear over a large dynamic range and could be understood in terms of the change in surface charge during protonation and deprotonation. Biotin-modified SiNWs were used to detect streptavidin down to at least a picomolar concentration range. In addition, antigen-functionalized SiNWs show reversible antibody binding and concentration-dependent detection in real time. Lastly, detection of the reversible binding of the metabolic indicator Ca2+ was demonstrated. The small size and capability of these semiconductor nanowires for sensitive, label-free, real-time detection of a wide range of chemical and biological species could be exploited in array-based screening and in vivo diagnostics.