Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 6, 2026
07:33
Fluorescent Leakage Assay to Investigate Membrane Destabilization by Cell-Penetrating Peptide
Published on: December 19, 2020
5.9K
Cyclodepsipeptides as chemical tools for studying ionic transport through membranes
M M Shemyakin1, Y A Ovchinnikov, V T Ivanov
1Institute for Chemistry of Natural Products, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow, USSR.
The Journal of Membrane Biology
|November 1, 2013
Summary
This study explores membrane-active depsipeptides like valinomycin, revealing their cation-binding abilities influence antimicrobial activity. These compounds can be chemically tailored as tools for studying biological membranes.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Biophysics
- Membrane Biology
Background:
- Valinomycin and enniatins are membrane-active depsipeptides.
- These compounds affect alkali metal ion permeability in biological and model membranes.
- Their antimicrobial activity is linked to cation-complexing ability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the chemistry of depsipeptides and their interaction with membranes.
- To correlate cation-complexing ability with antimicrobial activity and membrane effects.
- To elucidate the spatial structure and conformational properties of these cyclodepsipeptides.
Main Methods:
- Spectropolarimetry and conductimetry were used to study cation complexation.
- Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), optical rotatory dispersion (ORD), and infrared (IR) spectrophotometry were employed.
- Studies included interactions with phospholipid monolayers, bimolecular membranes, and biological membrane systems.
Main Results:
- Conformational analysis revealed coexisting conformers in solution.
- The spatial structures of valinomycin, enniatin B, and their K+ complexes were elucidated.
- Cyclodepsipeptide conformation impacts complexation efficiency, selectivity, and membrane interactions.
Conclusions:
- Depsipeptides can be designed as chemical tools for membrane research.
- Conformation-dependent cation binding via ion-dipole interactions may explain natural ion permeability mechanisms.
Related Concept Videos
01:09Ion-Exchange Chromatography
3.0K
Ion-exchange chromatography, or IEC, is a technique for separating ions based on their affinity for the stationary phase. The stationary phase is a cross-linked polymer resin with covalently attached ionic functional groups. The functional groups can be either positively charged (cation exchangers) or negatively charged (anion exchangers). A cation exchanger consists of a polymeric anion and active cations, while an anion exchanger is a polymeric cation with active anions. The choice of...
3.0K
01:17Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport
1.6K
Pore transport and ion-pair formation are critical mechanisms for the absorption and distribution of drugs in the body.
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct...
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct...
1.6K
01:15Potentiometry: Membrane Electrodes
2.3K
Membrane electrodes, also known as p-ion electrodes, use membranes that selectively interact with free analyte ions, generating a potential difference across the membrane. The resulting membrane potential, known as the asymmetry potential, is not zero even when analyte concentrations on both sides of the membrane are equal. The membrane's response is typically not selective to a single analyte but proportional to the concentration of all ions in the sample solution capable of interacting at...
2.3K
01:19Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters
6.1K
Enzymes like flippase, floppase, and scramblase transfer phospholipids from one layer to another in the membrane, thereby affecting membrane asymmetry.
Flippase
Eukaryotic flippases are type-IV P-type ATPases or P4-ATPases belonging to P-type ATPase family proteins that are membrane-bound pumps involved in the ATP-mediated transport of ions and molecules across the membrane. Flippases flip specific phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet of a membrane. All P4-ATPases have one...
Flippase
Eukaryotic flippases are type-IV P-type ATPases or P4-ATPases belonging to P-type ATPase family proteins that are membrane-bound pumps involved in the ATP-mediated transport of ions and molecules across the membrane. Flippases flip specific phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet of a membrane. All P4-ATPases have one...
6.1K
01:12Mechanically-gated Ion Channels
5.8K
5.8K
01:44The Significance of Membrane Transport
24.5K
The transport of solutes across the cell membrane is essential for metabolic processes, like maintaining cell size and volume, generating the action potential, exchanging nutrients and gases, etc. Membrane transport can be either passive or active. It can be simple diffusion, facilitated, or mediated transport aided by transport proteins such as transporters and channels.
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...
24.5K