Lipid Bilayer as a Model Cell Membrane: Its Structure as a Consequence of Bilayer Forces and Elasticity. The Bilayer Responds to Solvation of Amphiphilic Anesthetic

Adriana Šturcová
Přednáška cyklu VIS
19.6.2025 10:00, Přednáškový sál A

Lipid hydrocarbon chains that are organized in a bilayer are not isolated and their ordering can be evaluated by the use of the average deuterium order parameter 〈S〉 as obtained from NMR spectroscopy. It will be shown in this work, that two different approaches can be used to obtain the same mathematical description of lipid bilayer structure. The agreement between the two approaches implies that the order parameter is, i.a., a representation of the balance established between intra- and interbilayer forces (or pressures), while the model relates these forces to bilayer elastic properties. The proposed model is then applied to 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC)/water bilayers to understand their response to solvation of a small amphiphilic molecule of benzyl alcohol. Various binding sites are identified to exist within the bilayer – benzyl alcohol molecules partition between these sites, and such equilibrium is dynamic and hydration-dependent. An observation is made that solubilization of benzyl alcohol molecules is terminated when the DMPC chains adopt certain limiting values of the order parameter throughout the chain.

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