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Without longitudinal clinical data, it is difficult to differentiate some cases of chronic periodontitis (CP) and aggressive periodontitis (AgP). Furthermore, both forms of disease are exacerbated by tobacco use. Therefore, this cross-sectional study was planned, primarily, to determine the ability of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to distinguish CP and AgP patients by analysis of human saliva samples and, secondarily, to assess the potential confounding influence of smoking on discriminating disease-specific spectral signatures. FTIR spectra were collected from patients with a clinical diagnosis of CP (n = 18; 7 smokers) or AgP (n = 23; 9 smokers). Self-reported smoking status, which may be unreliable, was confirmed by salivary cotinine analysis. Spectral band area analysis and hierarchical cluster analyses were performed to clarify if the 2 periodontitis groups as well as smoker and nonsmoker patients could be differentiated from each other. Significant variations in lipid, amino acid, lactic acid, and nucleic acid content were found between nonsmoker CP and AgP groups. Although significantly lower lipid, phospholipid, protein, amino acid, lactic acid, and nucleic acid content was noted in the smoker AgP group compared with the nonsmoker AgP group, in the CP group, phospholipid, protein, amino acid, and lactic acid content was significantly lower for smokers compared with the nonsmokers. Based on these variations, nonsmoker CP and AgP patients were discriminated from each other with high sensitivity and specificity. Successful differentiation was also obtained for the smoker CP and AgP groups. Thiocyanate levels successfully differentiated smokers from nonsmokers, irrespective of periodontal status, with 100% accuracy. Differentiation of AgP and CP forms, concomitant with determination of smoking status, may allow the dental health professional to tailor treatment accordingly.

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There are contradictory results in the literature relating to the effect of tamoxifen on membrane fluidity. The present work investigates the effect of tamoxifen on membrane dynamics to find out whether the concentration of tamoxifen can be one of the factors in this discrepancy. Turbidity (absorbance at 440 nm) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies reveal that tamoxifen causes opposite effects on membrane fluidity at low (1 mol.%) and high (30 mol.%) tamoxifen concentrations. Low tamoxifen concentrations increase the absorbance in the gel and liquid crystalline phase, whereas high tamoxifen concentrations decrease the absorbance in gel and liquid crystalline phase, whereas tamoxifen concentrations decrease the absorbance. Observations on both phases show that the bandwidth of the CH2 stretching bands decreases with 1 mol.% tamoxifen and increases with 30 mol.% tamoxifen present, indicating a decrease in membrane fluidity at low tamoxifen concentrations and an increase in fluidity at high tamoxifen concentrations. It is seen that the apparent discrepancy in the literature on the effect of tamoxifen on membrane fluidity mainly arises from the tamoxifen concentration used and the confusion on the concept of lipid fluidity and lipid order.

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Selenium, being an essential mineral in the mammalian diet, is important in providing protection against oxidative damage. Numerous in vitro studies of selenium compounds reveal a very high correlation between catalytic activity of selenium compounds and toxicity. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of dietary selenium on the biomechanical properties of bone. New born rats of both sexes were fed with either a control, or a selenium- and vitamin E-deficient, or a selenium-excess and vitamin E-adequate diet. We obtained the stiffness (modulus of elasticity) of bones (femur and tibia) by tensile test for all groups considered. Both the deficient and the excess groups have decreased biomechanical strength with respect to the control group. To support our biomechanical results for both experimental groups, X-ray diffraction analysis and FTIR spectroscopic study were performed on the femurs and tibiae. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the intensities of the peak observed at around 2theta degrees = 31.820, in the control femur and tibia are stronger than the intensities of the corresponding peak of two experimental groups. In FTIR spectroscopy, the disappearance and/or reduction of the intensities of some carbonate bands in the two experimental groups indicate that there is a decrease in crystallinity and mineral contents which, together with X-ray diffraction analysis, correlate very well with the biomechanical data.

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For sometime Turkish scientists have been actively involved in biotechnology related research. However, biotechnology educa-tion in Turkey is a relatively recent phenomenon. The subject has not been addressed at the undergraduate level in a serious way until recently. This is evident from the lack of undergraduate degree programmes in biotechnology at Turkish Universities. The Turkish scientific establishment is very much aware of the importance of biotechnology and has identified this subject as one of the priority areas. The Universities are taking positive steps towards enhancing Biotechnology education. This article focuses on the emergence, as well as the problems and prospects of Biotechnology education in Turkey.

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Vitamin D plays important roles in the bone formation, in calcium and phosphorus homeostasis and in the treatment and prevention of many diseases. Ions, especially divalent cations like Mg(2+), have indispensable roles in many vital biological events. Mg(2+) is involved in many fundamental processes such as stabilization of membranes and macromolecules, synthesis of nucleic acid and proteins and formation and use of high-energy phosphate bonds. Mg(2+) is also required for synthesis of more than 310 different enzymes of the body and is, therefore, involved in many important activities. The roles of vitamin D and major ions in the body are quite well known. While there are still many unresolved points about the exact molecular mechanism behind such diverse functions, in the present study, the interaction of Mg(2+) with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) model membranes has been studied in the presence and absence of vitamin D(2) by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and turbidity technique at 440 nm. The effect of different buffer media on the system has also been investigated. The temperature dependent investigation of the wavelength of the CH(2) antisymmetric stretching bands revealed that, in the presence of N-[2-hydroxyethyl] piperazine-N'-[2-ethanesulfonic acid] (Hepes) and phosphate buffer, addition of Mg(2+) and/or vitamin D(2) into pure DPPC liposomes does not change the shape of the phase transition profile. Turbidity studies support these results. In the presence of Hepes buffer, the inclusion of Mg(2+) and/or vitamin D(2) into pure DPPC liposomes orders the system. In the presence of phosphate buffer, FTIR study showed that, addition of Mg(2+) into pure DPPC liposomes disorders the system in the gel phase. The precipitation of Mg(2+) with phosphates, which is present in phosphate buffer, may be a reason for this difference in the effect. It is seen that, the binary mixture of Mg(2+)-DPPC and the ternary mixture of Mg(2+)-vitamin D(2)-DPPC behave differently in the presence of two different buffer media.

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Diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycemia, a relative lack of insulin. The metabolic disturbances in diabetic patients are often associated with cardiac and liver dysfunctions. Generally, experimental diabetic models in animals have been used to study diabetes-related changes in organ function, but the complexity of intact tissues can cause contradictory results. For this reason, different techniques have been used to understand the mechanisms of these dysfunctions in diabetic organs. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes on rat liver and heart tissues at the molecular level by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Wistar rats of both sexes, weighing 200-250 g, were made diabetic by a single injection of 50 mg kg(-1) intraperitoneal (i.p.) streptozotocin dissolved in 0.05 M citrate buffer (pH 4.5) and they were kept for 4-5 weeks. The diabetes status was checked by measuring the blood glucose level. In the complex FTIR spectra, the bands in the CH region for example the CH(2) antisymmetric and symmetric stretching, the CH(3) symmetric and asymmetric stretching vibrations due to lipids and proteins in the 3000-2800 cm(-1) region and CH(2) scissoring around 1464 cm(-1) and the CH(3) scissoring at 1454 cm(-1) were analyzed. Characteristic spectral bands of these diabetic samples were compared with those of control group to confirm the effect of diabetes on liver and heart tissues. The FTIR spectra revealed dramatic differences in the band positions and bandwidths, signal intensity values and signal intensity ratios between diabetic and control tissues. Similar differences were observed for diabetic liver and heart tissues. A significant increase in the bandwidth of the CH(2) symmetric and antisymmetric stretching and the CH(3) symmetric and asymmetric stretching bands has been observed for both tissue types. The wavenumber of the CH(3) asymmetric stretching band shifts to lower values, indicating an increase in the order in the deep interior part of the lipid chains. The ratio of the CH(2) symmetric to CH(3) symmetric stretching band (lipid/protein ratio) decreases by 13% for diabetic heart and liver tissues. A decrease is also detected in the ratio of the CH(2) scissoring to the CH(3) scissoring mode. The overall intensity of these bands is seen to increase for diabetic tissues.

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In the present work, mutual interaction of melittin, a pore forming hemolytic toxin from bee venom, and vitamin D(2), an antioxidant steroid, with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) multilamellar liposomes has been investigated. Turbidity and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic measurements, in combination with thermodynamic calculations, were used to monitor the modulating effect of vitamin D(2) on a melittin-DPPC membrane system. The results indicate that melittin on its own decreases the main phase transition to lower temperatures and also dramatically decreases the stability of the membrane. It has an overall disordering effect on the phospholipid membrane structures. Inclusion of vitamin D(2) at low concentrations (3, 6 mol%) into melittin containing DPPC liposomes slightly shifts the main phase transition to lower temperatures. High concentration of vitamin D(2) (9 mol%) has a more dramatic effect in shifting the main phase transition to lower temperature. It also causes a significant broadening in the phase transition curve. The present study also demonstrates that, with the addition of vitamin D(2) into melittin-DPPC system, absorbance value in turbidity study and the frequency of the CH(2) stretching band in FTIR study changes in a manner that are consistent with a reduction in the membrane perturbing effect of melittin on DPPC liposomes. Vitamin D(2) diminishes the disordering effect of melittin on DPPC lipids and produces a more ordered membrane system. These results were confirmed with thermodynamic calculations.

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The effect of alpha-tocopherol on the frequency of the CH2 stretching bands of infrared spectra of dipalmitoylphosphotidylcholine multibilayers has been investigated, both in H2O and 2H2O buffer, to determine the reason for the discrepancy in the literature between the results of different spectroscopic techniques relating to the effect of alpha-tocopherol on membrane order in the gel phase. In contrast to previous FTIR studies, the present FTIR results indicate that alpha T increases the frequencies of the CH2 stretching bands in the gel phase, which implies an increase in the number of gauche conformers (increase in disordering), which is in agreement with other ESR and NMR spectroscopic studies.

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Binary and ternary mixtures of alpha-tocopherol (alphaT), cholesterol and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) in the form of multilamellar liposomes have been investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Investigation of frequencies, bandwidths and band shapes of CH(2) stretching and scissoring bands indicate that the effect of alphaT is dominant in comparison with cholesterol and alphaT decreases the interaction of cholesterol with phospholipid membranes.

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Binary and tertiary mixture of alpha-tocophenol, cholesterol and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine in the form of multilamellar liposomes were investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared and visible spectroscopy. Results of the FTIR and turbidity experiments indicate that alpha T decreases or diminishes the effect of cholesterol on the frequency and the bandwidth of the C-H stretching, CH2 scissoring and C = O stretching bands in FTIR spectra and the turbidity measurements (recorded as absorbance values at 440 nm) in phospholipid model membranes.

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An investigation into the effect of alpha-tocopherol on phospholipid model membranes has been carried out by electron spin resonance (ESR) and saturation transfer ESR. The use of stearic acid and of perdeutero -di-t-butyl nitroxide spin probes has allowed us to monitor, in particular, the effect of alpha-tocopherol on both the phospholipid chain order and the phospholipid chain mobility. The results obtained are mainly consistent with a differing action of alpha-tocopherol in the gel and in the liquid crystalline phases: in the former it induces a decrease of order and an increase in fluidity; while in the latter phase an indication of a slight increase in ordering and a clear decrease in fluidity are registered.

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The effect of alpha-tocopherol (alpha T) on partitioning and fluidity changes occurring in phospholipid liposomes have been investigated by monitoring the X-band ESR spectrum of the high resolution amphiphilic spin probe perdeutero-di-t-butyl nitroxide (PDDTBN), which partitions in the lipid and water phase of liposomes, showing all the three resonances from each phase well resolved.

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The high resolution (narrow linewidth) amphiphilic spin probe perdeutero di-t-butyl nitroxide (PDDTBN) has been used to investigate the effect of alpha-tocopherol on lecithin liposomes. The electron spin resonance (ESR) results obtained as a function both of alpha-tocopherol concentration and of temperature indicate the presence of two different hydrophobic sites for the spin probe molecules. The presence of two distinct phases, one alpha-tocopherol-poor and the other alpha-tocopherol-rich, is suggested in these phospholipid bilayers.

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