Water And Ions In Biomolecular Systems

About 80 scientists from allover the world have gathered at the Parc Valrose Scientific Campus of Nice -Sophia Antipolis University, for the 5th UNESCO International Conference on "Water and Ions in Biornolecular Systems," to present and discuss current problems in the field. The Conference proceedings comprise selected and reviewed contributions of invited plenary lectures, lectures and posters presentations which cover all the Biophysical sectors of research on the following three major topics: * Water, Ions and Nucleic Acids * Water, Ions and Membranes * Water, Ions and Proteins The organizers of the 5th UNESCO International Conference on "Water and Ions in Biomolecular Systems" have obtained financial support from various sponsors. They would like to express their appreciation and gratitude to these organizations for the valuable moral and financial support which has made the arrangement of these Conference in Nice possible. The Meeting has been sponsored by: * United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization * The University of Nice -Sophia Antipolis * D. R. E. T. (Defence Ministery) * Conseil General des Alpes Maritimes * Ville de Nice * The International Union of BiochernistIy * The International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics * Banque Nationale de Paris * Air Liquide * Nice Congres The Executive Committee, Professors J. JAZ, B. PULLMAN and D.

Over the past decade, numerous books have attempted to explain ions in aqueous solutions in relation to biophysical phenomena. Ions in Water and Biophysical Implications, from Chaos to Cosmos offers a physicochemical point of view of the spread of this matter and suggests innovative solutions that will challenge the biophysics research establishment. Starting with a throughout discussion of the properties of liquid water, in particular as a structured liquid with an extensive hydrogen bonded structure, the book examines water as a solvent for gases, non-electrolytes, and electrolytes and reviews the properties, sizes and thermodynamics of isolated and aqueous ions, as well as their interactions, including those of polyelectrolytes. The effects of ions on water structure, including those on solvent dynamics and certain thermodynamic quantities, are presented. This volume investigates water surfaces with its vapour, with another liquid, and with a solid, as well as the effects of solutes, including simple ions and the water-miscible non-electrolytes. Surfaces are relevant to biomolecular and colloidal systems and the book discusses briefly surfactants, micelles and vesicles. Finally, the book concludes with a review of the various biophysical implications involving chaotropic and kosmotropic ions in homogeneous solutions and the Hofmeister series for ions concerning biomolecular and colloidal systems and some aspects of protein hydration and K+/Na+ selectivity in ion channels. Ions in Water and Biophysical Implications, from Chaos to Cosmos will appeal to physical chemists, biophysicists, biochemists, as well as to all students and researchers involved in the study of aqueous solutions.

This textbook originated from the course 'Simulation, Modeling, and Computations in Biophysics' that I have taught at the University of Chicago since 2011. The students typically came from a wide range of backgrounds, including biology, physics, chemistry, biochemistry, and mathematics, and the course was intentionally adapted for senior undergraduate students and graduate students. This is not a highly technical book dedicated to specialists. The objective is to provide a broad survey from the physical description of a complex molecular system at the most fundamental level, to the type of phenomenological models commonly used to represent the function of large biological macromolecular machines.The key conceptual elements serving as building blocks in the formulation of different levels of approximations are introduced along the way, aiming to clarify as much as possible how they are interrelated. The only assumption is a basic familiarity with simple mathematics (calculus and integrals, ordinary differential equations, matrix linear algebra, and Fourier-Laplace transforms).

As the First International Conference on Water and Ions in Biological Systems (Bucharest, June 25-27, 1980) was appreciated as a success, a second one was organized in the fall of the year 1982 under the sponsorship of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences, the Romanian Biophysical Society (Union of Societies for Medical Sciences in the Socialist Republic of Romania) and in co operation with the International Union for Pure and Applied Bio physics (IUPAB). The responsibility for the scientific program and organization of the Second Conference on Water fell on an International Scientific Committee which included Prof. J. Tigyi (Pees), President of the UNESCO Expert Committee on Biophysics, Prof. K. Wuthrich, Secretary General of IUPAB and Prof. H. Eisenberg, (member of the IUPAB Council) under the guidance of an Executive Board whose members were Prof. J. Jaz (representative of UNESCO), Prof. B. Pullman (Vice President of IUPAB) and Prof. V. Vasilescu (President of the Romanian Biophysical Society). The Meeting was attended by more than 250 specialists including 150 Romanian participants and others from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, England, the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Democratic Republic, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, USSR, USA, Venezuela, Yugoslavia. The proceedings of the Conference took place in the Medical Faculty of Bucharest. The theoretical and practical importance of the Meeting was pointed out by the speakers, among whom were Prof.

Spectroscopy and Modeling of Biomolecular Building Blocks presents an overview of recent advances in the intertwining of the following research fields: photon and electron spectroscopy, quantum chemistry, modelling and mass-spectrometry. The coupling of these disciplines offers a new point of view to the understanding of isolated elementary building blocks of biomolecules and their assemblies. It allows the unambiguous separation between intrinsic properties of biomolecular systems and those induced by the presence of their environment. The first chapters provide background in modelling (I), frequency-resolved spectroscopy using microwave, infrared and UV photons, time-resolved spectroscopy in the femtosecond domain and energy-resolved electron spectroscopy (II) and production of gas-phase neutral and ionic biomolecular species, mass-spectrometry, ion mobility and BIRD techniques (III). Chapter IV is devoted to case studies of gas-phase experimental investigations coupled to quantum or classical calculations. The topics are structural studies of nucleobases and oligonucleotides, peptides and proteins, sugars; neuromolecules; non-covalent complexes; chiral systems, interactions of low-energy electrons with biomolecules in the radiation chemistry context and very large gas-phase biomolecular systems. The fifth chapter concerns the link between gas-phase and liquid-phase. Different treatments of solvation are illustrated through examples pointing out the influence of progressive addition of water molecules upon properties of nucleobases, peptides, sugars and neuromolecules. Offer a new perspective to the understanding of isolated elementary building blocks of bio molecules Includes case studies of experimental investigations coupled to quantum or classical calculations

Since the discovery of X-rays and radioactivity, ionizing radiations have been widely applied in medicine both for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The risks associated with radiation exposure and handling led to the parallel development of the field of radiation protection. Pioneering experiments done by Sanche and co-workers in 2000 showed that low-energy secondary electrons, which are abundantly generated along radiation tracks, are primarily responsible for radiation damage through successive interactions with the molecular constituents of the medium. Apart from ionizing processes, which are usually related to radiation damage, below the ionization level low-energy electrons can induce molecular fragmentation via dissociative processes such as internal excitation and electron attachment. This prompted collaborative projects between different research groups from European countries together with other specialists from Canada, the USA and Australia. This book summarizes the advances achieved by these research groups after more than ten years of studies on radiation damage in biomolecular systems. An extensive Part I deals with recent experimental and theoretical findings on radiation induced damage at the molecular level. It includes many contributions on electron and positron collisions with biologically relevant molecules. X-ray and ion interactions are also covered. Part II addresses different approaches to radiation damage modelling. In Part III biomedical aspects of radiation effects are treated on different scales. After the physics-oriented focus of the previous parts, there is a gradual transition to biology and medicine with the increasing size of the object studied. Finally, Part IV is dedicated to current trends and novel techniques in radiation reserach and the applications hence arising. It includes new developments in radiotherapy and related cancer therapies, as well as technical optimizations of accelerators and totally new equipment designs, giving a glimpse of the near future of radiation-based medical treatments.

First multi-year cumulation covers six years: 1965-70.