Probing the Hydrophobic Region of a Lipid Bilayer at Specific Depths Using Vibrational Spectroscopy.

ABSTRACT: A novel spectroscopic approach for studying the flexibility and mobility in the hydrophobic interior of lipid bilayers at specific depths is proposed. A set of test compounds featuring an azido moiety and a cyano or carboxylic acid moiety, connected by an alkyl chain of different lengths, was synthesized. FTIR data and molecular dynamics calculations indicated that the test compounds in a bilayer are oriented so that the cyano or carboxylic acid moiety is located in the lipid head-group region, while the azido group stays inside the bilayer at the depth determined by its alkyl chain length. We found that the asymmetric stretching mode of the azido group (ν_N3) can serve as a reporter of the membrane interior dynamics. FTIR and two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) studies were performe

SUBMITTER: Islam MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10704553 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature