Effects Of Hexanol Research Articles

Spray and combustion characteristics of butanol-diesel and hexanol-diesel blends under high-altitude conditions

Due to their excellent fuel properties, butanol and hexanol are considered as two promising renewable fuels for diesel engine applications. The objective of this work is to investigate and compare the spray and combustion characteristics of butanol-diesel and hexanol-diesel blends under high-altitude conditions. A constant volume combustion chamber was used to provide the desired environment. Experiments were conducted under various ambient temperatures ranging from 800 K to 1200 K and various ambient densities ranging from 11 kg/m3 to 15 kg/m3. Fuel blends with 20% blend ratio (B20 and H20) and neat diesel were used as test fuels. The spray and combustion characteristics of the test fuels were analyzed using measured liquid penetration length, ignition delay, combustion duration, flame lift-off length (FLoL), and spatially integrated natural luminosity (SINL). Results revealed that B20 and H20 had shorter liquid penetration length than diesel under low ambient temperature and density conditions due to their higher volatility. The blended fuels showed significantly longer ignition delay than diesel under low ambient temperature conditions, but it could be overcome by increasing the ambient temperature. Adding butanol and hexanol into diesel both extended FLoL especially under low ambient temperature and density conditions, but the effects of hexanol was less dramatic compared to butanol due to its lower latent heat of vaporization and higher chemical reactivity. Both B20 and H20 showed lower SINL than diesel under any conditions, indicating their ability of reducing soot emissions. However, no apparent differences could be found between these two fuels until the ambient temperature dropped to 800 K.

Molecular basis for potentiation of Cx36 gap junction channel conductance by n-alcohols and general anesthetics

In our recent study, we have demonstrated that short carbon chain n-alcohols (up to octanol) stimulated while long carbon chain n-alcohols inhibited the conductance of connexin (Cx) 36 (Cx36) gap junction (GJ) channels. In contrast, GJ channels composed of other types of Cxs all were inhibited by n-alcohols independent of their carbon chain length. To identify the putative structural domains of Cx36, responsible for the dual effect of n-alcohols, we performed structural modeling of Cx36 protein docking with hexanol and isoflurane that stimulated as well as nonanol and carbenoxolone that inhibited the conductance of Cx36 GJs and revealed their multiple common docking sites and a single pocket accessible only to hexanol and isoflurane. The pocket is located in the vicinity of three unique cysteine residues, namely C264 in the fourth, and C92 and C87 in the second transmembrane domain of the neighboring Cx36 subunits. To examine the hypothesis that disulphide bonding might be involved in the stimulatory effect of hexanol and isoflurane, we generated cysteine substitutions in Cx36 and demonstrated by a dual whole-cell patch-clamp technique that in HeLa (human cervix carcinoma cell line) and N2A (mouse neuroblastoma cell line) cells these mutations reversed the stimulatory effect of hexanol and isoflurane to inhibitory one, typical of other Cxs that lack respective cysteines and a specific docking pocket for these compounds. Our findings suggest that the stimulatory effect of hexanol and isoflurane on Cx36 GJ conductance could be achieved by re-shuffling of the inter-subunit disulphide bond between C264 and C92 to the intra-subunit one between C264 and C87.

Fluorescent Probe Study of AOT Vesicle Membranes and Their Alteration upon Addition of Aniline or the Aniline Dimer p-Aminodiphenylamine (PADPA).

Artificial vesicles formed from sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) in aqueous solution are used successfully as additives for enzymatic oligomerizations or polymerizations of aniline or the aniline dimer p-aminodiphenylamine (PADPA) under slightly acidic conditions (e.g., pH 4.3 with horseradish peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide as oxidants). In these systems, the reactions occur membrane surface-confined. Therefore, (i) the physicochemical properties of the vesicle membrane and (ii) the interaction of aniline or PADPA with the AOT membrane play crucial roles in the progress and final outcome of the reactions. For this reason, the properties of AOT vesicles with and without added aniline or PADPA were investigated by using two fluorescent membrane probes: 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) and 6-lauroyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene (Laurdan). DPH and Laurdan were used as "sensors" of the membrane fluidity, surface polarity, and membrane phase state. Moreover, the effect of hexanol, alone or in combination with aniline or PADPA, as a possible modifier of the AOT membrane, was also studied with the aim of evaluating whether the membrane fluidity and surface polarity is altered significantly by hexanol, which, in turn, may have an influence on the mentioned types of reactions. The data obtained indicate that the AOT vesicle membrane at room temperature and pH 4.3 (0.1 M NaH2PO4) is more fluid and has a more polar surface than in the case of fluid phospholipid vesicle membranes formed from 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC). Furthermore, the fluorescence measurements indicate that mixed AOT-hexanol membranes are less fluid than pure AOT membranes and that they have a lower surface polarity than pure AOT membranes. PADPA strongly binds to AOT and to mixed AOT/hexanol membranes and leads to drastic changes in the membrane properties (decrease in fluidity and surface polarity), resulting in Laurdan fluorescence spectra, which are characteristic for intramembrane phase separations (coexistence of ordered and disordered domains). This means that highly fluid AOT membranes transform upon the addition of PADPA into membranes that have ordered domains. Although the relevance of this finding for the enzymatic oligomerization of PADPA is not yet clear, it is also of interest if one likes to use heterogeneous vesicle membranes as additives for carrying out membrane surface-confined reactions that do not necessarily involve PADPA as a reactant.

Influence of Alcohols on the Lateral Diffusion in Phospholipid Membranes.

The effects of hexanol and octanol on the lateral mobility of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) bilayer are investigated by means of pulsed-gradient stimulated-echo NMR spectroscopy. Three distinct diffusions are identified for the DMPC/alcohol systems. They are ascribed to the water, the alcohol, and the lipid. We find that the presence of alcohols promotes the lipid diffusion process both in the liquid and in the interdigitated phases. Furthermore, using the Arrhenius approach, the activation energies are calculated. An explanation in terms of a free volume model, that takes into account also the observed increase of the activation energy in both phases, is proposed. The results obtained here are compared with those presented in our previous work on 1,2-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) in order to examine the dependence of the lipid translational diffusion process upon the membrane acyl chain length. A peculiar influence of alcohols on different membranes is found.

Effects of Anesthetics on Mutant N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptors Expressed in Xenopus Oocytes

Alcohols, inhaled anesthetics, and some injectable anesthetics inhibit the function of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, but the mechanisms responsible for this inhibition are not fully understood. Recently, it was shown that ethanol inhibition of NMDA receptors was reduced by mutation of residues in the transmembrane (TM) segment 3 of the NR1 subunit (F639A) or in TM4 of the NR2A subunit (A825W), suggesting putative ethanol binding sites. We hypothesized that the actions of other anesthetics might also require these amino acids and evaluated the effects of anesthetics on the NMDA receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes with two-electrode voltage-clamp recording. Effects of hexanol, octanol, isoflurane, halothane, chloroform, cyclopropane, 1-chloro-1,2,2-trifluorocyclobutane, and xenon were reduced or eliminated in the mutant NMDA receptors, whereas the inhibitory effects of nitrous oxide, ketamine, and benzene were not affected by these mutations. Rapid applications of glutamate and glycine by a T-tube device provided activation time constants, which suggested different properties of ketamine and isoflurane inhibition. Thus, amino acids in TM3 and TM4 are important for the actions of many anesthetics, but nitrous oxide, benzene, and ketamine seem to have distinct mechanisms for inhibition of the NMDA receptors.

Effect of hexanol on the reversed micelles of Span 85 modified with Cibacron Blue F-3GA for protein solubilization

Sorbitan trioleate (Span 85) modified with Cibacron Blue F-3GA (CB) was used as an affinity surfactant (CB-Span 85) to form affinity-based reversed micelles in n-hexane. It was found that the addition of hexanol to the reversed micellar system resulted in a significant increase in water content and hydrodynamic radius of the affinity-based reversed micelles. Moreover, the reversed micelles with hexanol revealed broader aggregation number distribution and larger average aggregation number than the reversed micelles without hexanol addition. This is considered to be due to the decreases in the micellar curvature and rigidity of the micellar interfacial layer and the increase in the micellar interfacial fluidity. Consequently, the solubilization capacity of lysozyme increased about 70% in the reversed micellar solution with 3 vol% hexanol. On the other hand, the capacity of BSA was only 30% increased under the same conditions due to its larger molecular size than lysozyme. Kinetic analysis revealed that the increase in the micellar interfacial fluidity in the presence of hexanol resulted in faster release of lysozyme from the micelles, thus leading to an increase of the overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient in the back extraction.

Modulation of actomyosin motor function by 1-hexanol.

This study examines the effects of 1-hexanol as a perturbing agent on actomyosin ATPase and its related functions in the concentration range between 0 and 20 mM. In this range the denaturation of myosin subfragment 1 (S1), as measured by the inactivation rate of its K-EDTA-ATPase, and depolymerization of F-actin were insignificant. Major findings showed that hexanol had the following effects which were fully reversible, (a) a marked activation of S1 MgATPase (approximately 10-fold at 20 mM) without greatly affecting the enhancement of tryptophan fluorescence by formation of S1.ADP.Pi intermediate and the rate of ADP release from S1.ADP; (b) an inhibition of the maximum actin-activated ATPase activity; (c) an increase in the affinity of S1 for actin in the presence of ATP and a decrease in the presence of ADP or the absence of nucleotide; (d) a reduction in the sliding velocity of actin filaments in in vitro motility assays with myosin, and (e) a decrease in isometric tension of single skinned muscle fibers. Thus, the effects of hexanol on actomyosin interaction are distinct for the weak and strong binding states, consistent with a change in the hydrophobic interaction in the interface between myosin and actin accompanying the transition from the weak to the strong binding state. Hexanol also accelerates the Pi release from S1.ADP.Pi, which is the transition step from the weak to the strong binding state. The fact that hexanol accelerates Pi release suggests that this alcohol perturbs the S1.ADP.Pi conformation. We speculate that this intermediate-specific structural perturbation is related to the inhibition of the maximum actin-activated ATPase, in vitro motility, and isometric tension.

Enantioselectivity of alcohol-modified polymeric surfactants in micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

A novel method of modifying sodium undecanoyl-L-leucinate (SUL) micelles employed in chiral separation of analytes in micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) to enhance selectivity toward specific analytes is discussed. The current study aimed at modifying the SUL micelles by introducing different alcohols into the mono-SUL micelles. The micellar solutions were then polymerized in the presence of alcohols followed by postpolymerization extraction of the alcohols to yield alcohol-free polymeric surfactants (poly-L-SUL). The effects of hexanol (C(6)OH) and undecylenyl alcohol (C(11)OH) on micellar properties of this surfactant were investigated by use of surface tensiometry, fluorescence spectroscopy, pulsed field gradient-nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG-NMR), and MEKC. The surface tension and PFG-NMR studies indicated an increase in the critical micelle concentration (cmc) and micellar size upon increasing the alcohol concentration. Fluorescence measurements suggested that alcohols induce closely packed micellar structures. Coumarinic and benzoin derivatives, as well as (+/-)-1, 1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-dihydrogen phosphate (BNP) were used as test analytes for MEKC experiments. Examination of MEKC data showed remarkable resolutions and capacity factors of coumarinic derivatives obtained with modified poly-L-SUL as compared to the unmodified poly-L-SUL. Evaluation of fluorescence, PFG-NMR, and MEKC data suggest a strong correlation between the polarity and hydrodynamic radii of alcohol-modified micelles and the resolution of the test analytes.

Dual effects of hexanol and halothane on the regulation of calcium sensitivity in airway smooth muscle.

Contraction of airway smooth muscle is regulated by receptor-coupled mechanisms that control the force developed for a given cytosolic calcium concentration (i.e., calcium sensitivity). Halothane antagonizes acetylcholine-induced increases in calcium sensitivity by inhibiting GTP-binding (G)-protein pathways. The authors tested the hypothesis that hexanol, like halothane, inhibits agonist-induced increases in calcium sensitivity in airway smooth muscle by inhibiting G-protein pathways. Calcium sensitivity was assessed using alpha-toxin-permeabilized canine tracheal smooth muscle. In selected experiments, regulatory myosin light chain phosphorylation was also determined by Western blotting in the presence and absence of 10 mm hexanol and/or 100 microm acetylcholine. Hexanol (10 mm) and halothane (0.76 mm) attenuated acetylcholine-induced calcium sensitization by decreasing regulatory myosin light chain phosphorylation during receptor stimulation. Hexanol also inhibited increases in calcium sensitivity due to direct stimulation of heterotrimeric G-proteins with tetrafluoroaluminate but not with 3 microm GTPgammaS, consistent with prior results obtained with halothane. In contrast, in the absence of receptor stimulation, both compounds produced a small increase in calcium sensitivity by a G-protein-mediated increase in regulatory myosin light chain phosphorylation that was not affected by pertussis toxin treatment. The authors noted dual effects of hexanol and halothane. In the presence of muscarinic receptor stimulation, hexanol, like halothane, decreases calcium sensitivity by interfering with heterotrimeric G-protein function. However, in the absence of muscarinic receptor stimulation, hexanol and halothane slightly increase calcium sensitivity by a G-protein-mediated process not sensitive to pertussis toxin. Hexanol may represent a useful experimental tool to study the effect of anesthetics on heterotrimeric G-protein function.

Effects of primary alcohols on airway smooth muscle.

The investigation examined whether primary alcohols could be used as tools to explore the mechanism of anesthetic actions in airway smooth muscle (ASM). The hypothesis was that, like volatile anesthetics, the primary alcohols relax intact ASM by decreasing intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and by inhibiting agonist-induced increases in the force developed for a given [Ca2+]i (Ca2+ sensitivity). The effects of butanol, hexanol, and octanol on isometric force in canine tracheal smooth muscle were examined. The effects of hexanol on [Ca2+]i (measured with fura-2) and the relationship between force and [Ca2+]i were studied during membrane depolarization provided by KCl and during muscarinic stimulation provided by acetylcholine. The primary alcohols relaxed ASM contracted by KCl or acetylcholine in a concentration-dependent manner, with potency increasing as chain length increased. The alcohols could completely relax the strips, even during maximal stimulation with 10 microM acetylcholine (median effective concentrations of 28 +/- 12, 1.3 +/- 0.4, and 0.14 +/- 0.05 mM [mean +/- SD] for butanol, hexanol, and octanol, respectively). Hexanol decreased both [Ca2+]i and force in a concentration-dependent manner. Hexanol decreased Ca2+ sensitivity during muscarinic stimulation but had no effect on the force-[Ca2+]i relationship in its absence. Primary alcohols produce reversible, complete relaxation of ASM, with potency increasing as chain length increases, by decreasing [Ca2+]i and inhibiting increases in Ca2+ sensitivity produced by muscarinic receptor stimulation. These actions mimic those of volatile anesthetics on ASM, a circumstance suggesting that the primary alcohols may be useful tools for further exploring mechanisms of anesthetic effects on ASM.

Effect of hexanol as a cosolvent on partitioning and mass transfer rate of protein extraction using reversed micelles of CB-modified lecithin

Using the affinity-based reversed micelles composed of Cibacron Blue F3G-A (CB) modified soybean lecithin, the effect of hexanol as a cosolvent on the extraction of lysozyme and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated. The water concentration in the reversed micelles increased significantly with increasing hexanol concentration. The partition coefficient of lysozyme could be increased by over 12-fold by introducing hexanol of higher than 0.5 vol%. However, the transfer of BSA was hardly affected because its high molecular weight resulted in a strong steric hindrance effect. The enzymatic activity of lysozyme was nearly 100% retained after undergoing the extraction process with the CB–lecithin micelles containing 3 vol% hexanol. The partitioning isotherms of lysozyme in the CB–lecithin micelles with and without hexanol addition were expressed by the Langmuir equation. The partitioning capacity of lysozyme was nearly increased twofold by introducing 3 vol% hexanol to the CB–lecithin micelles and reached 2.12 g/l. The cosolvent hexanol revealed insignificant effect on the mass transfer rate, and in both the systems with and without hexanol, the mass transfer rate in back extraction was 5–10 times slower than that in the forward extraction. This phenomenon was similar to that in conventionally employed ionic surfactant systems. The result suggests that in the present affinity-based reversed micelles, the interfacial resistance also played a more important role in back extraction than in forward extraction.