Binding of hemoglobin by Porphyromonas gingivalis

Nitric oxide which was released in aqueous solutions (> or = 10 microM) of direct NO-donors such as 3-morpholinesydnonimine (SIN-1) and S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP) consumed avidly sulfhydryl groups of N-acetylcysteine > cysteine > glutathione. In case of SIN-1 generation of nitrites run in parallel to disappearance of sulfhydryl groups of N-acetylcysteine and glutathione, however, for a pair of SIN-1 and cysteine the rate of formation of nitrites was much slower than the rate of consumption of sulfhydryl groups. We infer that kinetics of formation and breakdown of S-nitrosothiols varies depending on the type of a thiol which reacts with a NO-donor. Indirect NO-donors such as glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), molsidomine (MSD) or sodium nitroprusside (NaNP) at concentrations < 100 microM did not consume sulfhydryl groups of cysteine unless pretreated with the xanthine/xanthine oxidase system. We suppose that in this last case superoxide anions react with nitric oxide to form peroxynitrites with a higher potency than nitric oxide itself to destroy sulfhydryl groups. We conclude that out of three studied thiols N-acetylcysteine is the best substrate for the formation of S-nitrosothiols, while S-nitrosocysteine is the slowest releaser of nitric oxide. Moreover, unlike SIN-1 and SNAP, NaNP is not a direct NO-donor but behaves rather like GTN. Minute amounts of nitric oxide released either from NaNP or GTN gain from superoxide anions an amplification as SH-scavengers.     

Light localizations in photonic crystal line defect waveguides

In this paper, we discuss unique light localizations in photonic crystal line defect waveguides based on two different concepts. The first concept is an additional defect doping that breaks the symmetry of the line defect. Even though such a defect is open to the line defect, the optical field is well confined around the defect at cutoff frequencies of the line defect. This expands the design flexibility of microcavities and allows effective mode controls such as the single-mode operation. The lasing action of such cavities in a GaInAsP photonic crystal slab was experimentally observed by photopumping at room temperature. The second concept is a chirping of the waveguide structure. The photonic band of a waveguide mode has a band edge, at which the group velocity becomes zero. The band-edge condition shifts in a chirped line defect waveguide, so guided light reaches a zero group velocity point and is localized. A macroscopic behavior of this phenomenon was experimentally observed in a waveguide fabricated into a silicon-on-insulator substrate. In addition, a microscopic behavior was theoretically investigated, which suggested its applicability to a group delay device.