Carboxylic acid transport

The other subfamily, SLC1, includes the Na+-dependent glutamate transporters. It encompasses some amino- and carboxylic-acid transporters including glutamate transporters that are expressed in bacteria. X-ray diffraction data have been obtained from crystals of one of these [43] (Fig. 5-13). Analysis of multiple sequence alignments indicates that this molecule has a high degree of structural... 

In mimicking this type of function, noncyclic artificial carboxylic ionophores having two terminal groups of hydroxyl and carboxylic acid moieties were synthesized and the selective transport of alkali metal cations were examined by Yamazaki et al. 9 10). Noncyclic polyethers take on a pseudo-cyclic structure when coordinating cations and so it is possible to achieve the desired selectivity for specific cations by adjusting the length of the polyether chain 2). However, they were not able to observe any relationship between the selectivity and the structure of the host molecules in an active transport system using ionophores 1-3 10). (Table 1)... 

On the other hand, Bartsch et al. have studied cation transports using crown ether carboxylic acids, which are ascertained to be effective and selective extractants for alkali metal and alkaline earth metal cations 33-42>. In a proton-driven passive transport system (HC1) using a chloroform liquid membrane, ionophore 31 selectively transports Li+, whereas 32-36 and 37 are effective for selective transport of Na+ and K+, respectively, corresponding to the compatible sizes of the ring cavity and the cation. By increasing the lipophilicity from 33 to 36, the transport rate is gradually... 

Table 7. Selectivity orders for transport of alkali metal ions into toluene by crown ether carboxylic acids for several separation techniques...

Unfortunately, the pharmacology of chloride channels is poorly developed. Specific and highly useful inhibitors or modulators (e.g. strychnine, picrotoxin, diazepams) are only available for ligand-gated chloride channels (but these are covered in a different chapter). There are several chloride channel inhibitors such as the stilbene-disulfonates DIDS and SITS, 9-antracene-carboxylic acid (9-AC), arylaminobenzoates such as DPC and NPPB, niflumic acids and derivates, sulfony-lureas, and zinc and cadmium. All of these inhibitors, however, are not veiy specific. Several of these inhibitors (e.g. DIDS) inhibit many chloride channels only partially even at millimolar concentrations and have effects on other types of transport proteins. 

With chemical treatment, the natural surfactants in crude oil can be activated [1384]. This method has been shown to be effective for highly viscous crude oil from the Orinoco Belt that has been traditionally transported either by heating or diluting. The precursors to the surfactants are preferably the carboxylic acids that occur in the crude oil. The activation occurs by adding an aqueous buffer solution [1382,1383]. The buffer additive is either sodium hydroxide in combination with sodium bicarbonate or sodium silicate. Water-soluble amines also have been found to be suitable [1506]. 

In other studies, bisphosphonate-pamidronate or alendronate were linked to the terminal carboxylic acid of the stabilized dipeptide Pro-Phe to improve the bioavailability of bisphosphonates by hPepTl-mediated absorption. In-situ single-pass perfused rat intestine studies revealed competitive inhibition of transport by Pro-Phe, suggesting carrier-mediated transport. Oral administration of the dipeptidyl prodrugs resulted in a 3-fold increase in drug absorption following oral administration to rats. The authors suggested that oral bioavailability of bisphosphonates may be improved by PepTl-mediated absorption when administered as peptidyl prodrugs [53]. Future mechanistic studies may prove if hPepTl is involved in the absorption process. 

---