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Related Experiment Videos

Membrane water-penetration profiles from spin labels.

Derek Marsh1

  • 1Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Abteilung Spektroscopie, 37070 Göttingen, Germany. dmarsh@gwdg.de

European Biophysics Journal : EBJ
|February 27, 2003
PubMed
Summary

Hydrogen bonding to nitroxides was quantified using solvent mixtures. This allowed researchers to determine water penetration into phospholipid membranes, revealing dependence on unsaturation and cholesterol.

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The journal of physical chemistry. B·2019

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Physical Chemistry

Background:

  • Understanding water's interaction with lipid bilayers is crucial for membrane function.
  • Spin labeling and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) are powerful tools for probing membrane environments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify hydrogen bonding between water and oxazolidine nitroxides.
  • To determine the effective penetration profile of water into phospholipid membranes.
  • To investigate the influence of lipid unsaturation and cholesterol on water penetration.

Main Methods:

  • Spin label hyperfine splittings were measured in protic-aprotic solvent mixtures.
  • Onsager's model was used to correct for local dielectric constant variations.
  • EPR studies on systematically spin-labeled phospholipids were employed.

Main Results:

  • Association constants for hydrogen bonding to oxazolidine nitroxides were obtained.
  • Water penetration into fluid phospholipid membranes was found to be appreciable.
  • Water penetration was dependent on acyl chain unsaturation and significantly affected by cholesterol.

Conclusions:

  • Hydrogen bonding plays a role in water's interaction with nitroxides.
  • Water molecules effectively penetrate phospholipid membranes.
  • Membrane composition, particularly cholesterol content and fatty acid unsaturation, modulates water accessibility.

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