Biomolecules 27.3 Phospholipids

Phospholipids are an important class of biomolecules. Phospholipids are the fundamental building blocks of cellular membranes and are the major part of surfactant, the film that occupies the air/liquid interfaces in the limg. These molecules consist of a polar or charged head group and a pair of nonpolar fatty acid tails, connected via a glycerol linkage. This combination of polar and nonpolar segments is termed amphiphilic, and the word describes the tendency of these molecules to assemble at interfaces between polar and nonpolar phases. 

Cells are an integral component in the construction of biological systems. ThQ act both independently and in response to chemical and physical signaling between groups of cells, which is often controlled by aspects of the cell membrane. This membrane is a molecular hybrid that is mainly composed of three different types of biomolecules phospholipids, proteins, and polysaccharides. The cell membrane has the mechanical strength to sustain the cell morphology and the ability to maintain the concentration of specific chemicals in the (ytoplasm. In addition, cell-cell junctions that are formed between neighboring cells provide an important means of communication. 

The variety of molecules used to prepare LB films is enonnous. and only a small selection of examples can be presented here. Liquid crystals and biomolecules such as phospholipids, for example, can also be used to prepare LB films. The reader is referred to tire literature for infonnation about individual species. 

Similarly to the phospholipid polymers, the MPC polymers show excellent biocompatibility and blood compatibility [43—48]. These properties are based on the bioinert character of the MPC polymers, i.e., inhibition of specific interaction with biomolecules [49, 50]. Recently, the MPC polymers have been applied to various medical and pharmaceutical applications [44-47, 51-55]. The crosslinked MPC polymers provide good hydrogels and they have been used in the manufacture of soft contact lenses. We have applied the MPC polymer hydrogel as a cell-encapsulation matrix due to its excellent cytocompatibility. At the same time, to prepare a spontaneously forming reversible hydrogel, we focused on the reversible covalent bonding formed between phenylboronic acid and polyol in an aqueous system. 

DCIA has been used to label numerous proteins and other biomolecules, including phospholipids (Silvius et al., 1987), to study the interaction of mRNA with the 30S ribosomal subunit (Czworkowski et al., 1991), in the investigation of cellular thiol components by flow cytometry (Durand and Olive, 1983), in the detection of carboxylate compounds using peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence (Grayeski and DeVasto, 1987), and for general sulfhydryl labeling (Sippel, 1981). 

Both the N- (a-methylbenzy 1) stearamide and phospholipid systems as detailed above proved to be difficult systems with which to work. The inability of N- a-methylbenzy 1)stearamide to form stable monolayers or even to spread from the crystal on anything but very acidic subphases presents a significant technical challenge despite the presence of a chiral headgroup that is unobstructed by other molecular features. On the other hand, the phospholipid surfactants that spread to form stable films both from solution and from their bulk crystals on pure water subphases at ambient temperatures displayed no discernible enantiomeric discrimination in any film property. The chiral functionality on these biomolecules is apparently shielded from intermolecular interactions with other chiral centers to the extent... 

Several amino acids are broken down by de-carbo qflation. This reaction gives rise to what are known as biogenic amines, which have various functions. Some of them are components of biomolecules, such as ethanolamine in phospholipids (see p. 50). Cysteamine and T-alanine are components of coenzyme A (see p.l2) and of pantetheine (see pp. 108, 168). Other amines function as signaling substances. An important neurotransmitter derived from glutamate is y-aminobutyrate (GABA, see p.356). The transmitter dopamine is also a precursor for the catecholamines epinephrine and norepinephrine (see p.352). The biogenic amine serotonin, a substance that has many effects, is synthesized from tryptophan via the intermediate 5-hydroxytryptophan. 

Peroxynitrite is a very reactive species capable of reacting with many biomolecules including the antioxidants ascorbic acid, vitamin E, and uric acid [97-99], thiols [100], DNA [101], phospholipids [102], etc (see later). Because of this, a great interest has been drawn to the mechanisms of peroxynitrite reactions. 

The photoreduction of AuC14 in the presence of dimyristoyl-L-alpha-phosphati-dyl-DL-glycerol, which is a negatively charged phospholipid, gives rise to Au NPs coated through electrostatic adsorption of a biomolecule, leading to a nanosized model of a biomembrane [148]. 

Many biomolecules are amphipathic proteins, pigments, certain vitamins, and the sterols and phospholipids of membranes all have polar and nonpolar surface regions. Structures composed of these molecules are stabilized by hydrophobic interactions among the non-... 

Lipids are far more diverse chemically than other typical biomolecules such as amino acids, carbohydrates, and nucleotides. The definition of lipids includes simple fatty acids and their glycerol esters, sterols such as cholesterol, and phospholipids, sphingolipids, and cerebrosides. Lipids are generally defined by their common hydrophobic character, which makes them soluble in organic solvents such as chloroform. Virtually all lipids also have a hydrophilic group, which makes them surface active. 

The larger biomolecules that have potential Al3+ binding sites are phosphate-bearing biomolecules such as ATP, membrane phospholipids and nucleic acids. It is important to recognize that the metal coordination of these biomolecules might lead to serious disgorges in central biological processes necessary to cell homeostasis and consequently for its overall healthy condition [21]. 

Studies of membranes, hpids (including phospholipids), and other such amphiphilic biomolecules on electrodes are rather hmited due to the redox inactivity of these materials. Nevertheless, a few reports exist of studies of bilayer membranes and hpid amphiphiles on SERS surfaces and are mentioned here as exemplar studies due to the unique insight they offer. 

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