Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

Unraveling Entropic Rate Acceleration Induced by Solvent Dynamics in Membrane Enzymes
Published on: January 16, 2016
Interfacial water facilitates energy transfer by inducing extended vibrations in membrane lipids
Alireza Mashaghi1, P Partovi-Azar, Tayebeh Jadidi
1FOM Institute AMOLF, Science Park 104, 1098XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands. mashaghi@amolf.nl
Abstract:
We report the complete assignment of the vibrational spectrum of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), which belongs to the most ubiquitous membrane phospholipid family, phosphatidylcholine. We find that water hydrating the lipid headgroups enables efficient energy transfer across membrane leaflets on sub-picosecond time scales. The emergence of spatially extended vibrational modes upon hydration, underlies this phenomenon. Our findings illustrate the importance of collective molecular behavior of biomembranes and reveal that hydrated lipid membranes can act as efficient media for the transfer of vibrational energy.
More Related Videos
10:28Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
09:43Interfacial Molecular-level Structures of Polymers and Biomacromolecules Revealed via Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy
Published on: August 13, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Membrane Fluidity
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is a relatively...
Membrane Fluidity
Intermolecular Forces
SNAREs and Membrane Fusion
SNAREs exist in pairs that symmetrically interact and catalyze the fusion of the lipid bilayers in vesicle and target organelle. v-SNARE in the vesicle membrane are single polypeptide chains that bind to a complementary t-SNARE, composed of 2...
Fluid Mosaic Model
Van der Waals Interactions