Summary: Novel temperature sensitive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐acryloyl beta‐cyclodextrin) (P(NIPA‐co‐A‐CD)) hydrogels with fast shrinking rates were prepared by radical polymerization of NIPA, A‐CD and crosslinker in a mixture of water/1,4‐dioxane as solvent. Because the mixed solvent was a poor solvent for the copolymers, phase separation occurred during the polymerization, which resulted in a heterogeneous, porous structure of the hydrogels. In contrast to the normal PNIPA hydrogel and the homo P(NIPA‐co‐A‐CD) gel prepared in water, the P(NIPA‐co‐A‐CD) hydrogels synthesized in water/1,4‐dioxane as solvent exhibited higher swelling ratios at the temperature below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and shrunk rapidly to equilibrium within shorter time when the temperature was increased above LCST. Increasing the acryloyl beta‐cyclodextrin content in the gels led to a slight decrease of the swelling ratio at lower temperature and had no marked influence on the shrinking kinetics. The gels prepared in water/1,4‐dioxane, at different v/v ratios of 1.0/0.2, 0.8/0.4 and 0.6/0.6, showed similar properties.
SEM photos of the heterogeneous P(NIPA‐co‐A‐CD) hydrogel prepared in water/1,4‐dioxane. 相似文献
Voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels (VGCCs) are important in regulating a variety of cellular functions in neurons. It remains poorly understood how VGCCs with different functions are sorted within neurons. Here we show that the t-complex testis-expressed 1 (tctex1) protein, a light-chain subunit of the dynein motor complex, interacts directly and selectively with N- and P/Q-type Ca(2+) channels, but not L-type Ca(2+) channels. The interaction is insensitive to Ca(2+). Overexpression in hippocampal neurons of a channel fragment containing the binding domain for tctex1 significantly decreases the surface expression of endogenous N- and P/Q-type Ca(2+) channels but not L-type Ca(2+) channels, as determined by immunostaining. Furthermore, disruption of the tctex1-Ca(2+) channel interaction significantly reduces the Ca(2+) current density in hippocampal neurons. These results underscore the importance of the specific tctex1-channel interaction in determining sorting and trafficking of neuronal Ca(2+) channels with different functionalities. 相似文献