Olga Gorobchenko

The effects of a follicle size, total protein, sugar and hormone (estradiol, testosterone, progesterone) contents as well as freezing up to –196°C and storage in liquid nitrogen on water state in follicular fluid (FF) of the human ovary were studied. An enhancement in the frequency of dielectric relaxation of molecules in FF with a follicle size increasing was discovered. A close dependence of FF component hydration on a follicle diameter was revealed. It was shown that a rapid freezing and storage caused a decrease in the frequency of dielectric relaxation of water molecules in FF, which could be a result of a gain in the quantity of bound water in the system.

Measurements of the permittivity (epsiv') of table wines and juices for their production (worts) are performed in the microwave range. The microwave permittivity of wort determines epsiv' of wine (made from this wort) as well as the quantity of sugar and alcohol in it.

ABSTRACT The usefulness of permittivity measurement at two frequencies for the analysis of multi-component water solution dielectric properties in microwave range is shown. The ratio of these two frequencies should be equal to 4. The advantages of the proposed method are demonstrated by measurement of dry table wine permittivity.

The formation of the textures on the surface of the films from the solutions of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with sodium halides (NaF, NaCl, and NaBr) of various concentrations was studied. The formation of symmetric zigzag textures on the surface of BSA films (Cryst Eng 3:173-194, 2000) in the presence of sodium halides depends on the conformational state of the protein globule. Thermal denaturation of BSA also did not allow to form zigzag textures on the surface of the films.

The influence of the freezing velocities and final temperatures of storage on the complex dielectric permittivity of cord blood serum have been studied. On the temperature dependences of the dielectric permittivity the non-monotonous changes at the characteristic temperatures accompanying with the change of the activation energy of the water molecules dielectric relaxation were found out. The drastic deflection of the temperature dependence of ?' from the monotone curve at 15 degrees C region correlates with the fracture of Arrhenius plots of the dielectric relaxation time and viscosity at the same temperature. Slow freezing (1-2 degrees C/min) of cord blood serum results in ?' diminution in comparison with control, that testifies an increase of bound water amount because of loosening in this case the surface of biomacromolecule polypeptide chains. Rapid freezing (300-400 degrees C/min) results in ?' increase of serum, that is caused, apparently, by the cryoaggregation o...

ABSTRACT The present paper concerns the results of investigation of the second type diabetes and sugar-reducing drugs influence on the dielectric parameters of erythrocyte suspensions of patients, rabbits, rats by microwave dielectrometry at 9.2 GHz. This method is a promising method for integrated assessment of the structural changes of water properties in the interface erythrocyte-water, and can be recommended to monitor the dynamics of the erythrocytes state of patients in the course of treatment.

ABSTRACT The bulk phase of water and its status in the cells play an important role in the management of metabolic processes. One of the little-known universal phenomenon associated with the state of water is the Hofmeister effect which influences interfacial surfaces, the conformation of macromolecules, enzyme activity, and the growth of microorganisms. We investigated the influence of this effect on the change in the cell's ability to adapt to changing osmotic conditions, since understanding the mechanisms of osmotic behavior of the cells is an important step in the management of their activity (start of endo- and exocytosis, apoptosis). It is shown that specific properties of anions in the medium correlate with the osmotic sensitivity of red blood cells (RBC) and with indicators of free and bound water in suspension. The lyotropic series anion solution effect on the cell is a change of the hydration and structure of the membrane, which determines the osmotic behavior of the cell and the water environment properties.

ABSTRACT The influence of γ-irradiation on conformation changes of the human fibrinogen in aqueous solution by the microwave dielectric method on the frequency ~9,2 GHz have been studied. The real ε' and imaginary ε'' parts of the complex dielectric permittivity of the native and irradiated with doses 20, 60 and 100 Gy fibrinogen solutions at the temperature range 2-70 C were measured. The conformation transitions of fibrinogen were found out at 25, 33 and 63 C. It have been determined that the effect of γ-irradiation results in the structure disordering of volume water in solution in the region of melting of the thermolabile domains of fibrinogen.

Structure of γ-irradiated calcium phosphates synthesized in different conditions was studied by means of ESR. It has been shown that amorphous and nanocrystalline calcium phosphates have qualitatively different ESR spectra. The new paramagnetic center in hydroxyapatite (HA) has been found. It consists of four protons of water molecules located in the parallelogram vertexes and the free electron formed in HA by γ-irradiation. This center is thermally stable up to 300 °C, when the water molecules release from the HA crystal lattice.