PH-Dependent transport of amino acids across lipid bilayers by simple monotopic anion carriers.

ABSTRACT: The transport of amino acids across lipid membranes is vital for the proper functioning of every living cell. In spite of that, examples of synthetic transporters that can facilitate amino acid transport are rare. This is mainly because at physiological conditions amino acids predominantly exist as highly polar zwitterions and proper shielding of their charged termini, which is necessary for fast diffusion across lipophilic membranes, requires complex and synthetically challenging heteroditopic receptors. Here we report the first simple monotopic anion receptor, dithioamide 1, that efficiently transports a variety of natural amino acids across lipid bilayers at physiological pH. Mechanistic studies revealed that the receptor rapidly transports deprotonated amino acids, even though at pH 7.

SUBMITTER: Maslowska-Jarzyna K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9629080 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature