Fluidity, importance

The primary site of action is postulated to be the Hpid matrix of cell membranes. The Hpid properties which are said to be altered vary from theory to theory and include enhancing membrane fluidity volume expansion melting of gel phases increasing membrane thickness, surface tension, and lateral surface pressure and encouraging the formation of polar dislocations (10,11). Most theories postulate that changes in the Hpids influence the activities of cmcial membrane proteins such as ion channels. The Hpid theories suffer from an important drawback at clinically used concentrations, the effects of inhalational anesthetics on Hpid bilayers are very small and essentially undetectable (6,12,13). 

Orifice. Orifice viscometers, also called efflux or cup viscometers, are commonly used to measure and control flow properties in the manufacture, processing, and appHcation of inks, paints, adhesives, and lubricating oils. Their design answered the need for simple, easy-to-operate viscometers in areas where precision and accuracy are not particularly important. In these situations knowledge of a tme viscosity is uimecessary, and the efflux time of a fixed volume of Hquid is a sufficient indication of the fluidity of the material. Examples of orifice viscometers include the Ford, Zahn, and Shell cups used for paints and inks and the Saybolt Universal and Furol instmments used for oils (Table 5). 

Two other temperatures are important in the working of glass. At the annealing point (p = 10 poise) there is still enough fluidity to relax internal stresses in about... 

If fluidity, the physical property of a substance that enables it to flow and incompressibility were the only properties required, any liquid that is not too thick might be used in a hydraulic system. However, a satisfactory liquid for a particular system must possess a number of other properties. The most important properties and some characteristics are discussed in the following paragraphs. 

A molecular variation of plasma membrane has been reported by Puccia et al. Reduction of total lipids (XL) content and significant variations of triglyceride (TG) and phospholipids (PL) fractions were observed as a consequence of exposure of C. intestinalis ovaries to TBTCl solutions. In particular, an evident TG decrease and a PL increase were observed, which probably provoked an increment in membrane fluidity, because of the high concentration of long chain fatty acids and, as a consequence, PL. This could be a cell-adaptive standing mechanism toward the pollutants, as observed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Also the increase in the content of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUPA), important in the synthesis of compounds such as prostaglandin which are present in the ovary in a stress situation, was probably a consequence of a defense mechanism to the stress provoked by the presence of TBTCl. 

This proves our theory that the membrane fluidity is an important parameter increasing shear stress resistance. The studies give two possibilities of improving the resistance lowering temperature or adding cholesterol. Which one is the most convenient is dependent on the cell line and the constraints of the process. 

The use of Upid bilayers as a relevant model of biological membranes has provided important information on the structure and function of cell membranes. To utilize the function of cell membrane components for practical applications, a stabilization of Upid bilayers is imperative, because free-standing bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) typically survive for minutes to hours and are very sensitive to vibration and mechanical shocks [156,157]. The following concept introduces S-layer proteins as supporting structures for BLMs (Fig. 15c) with largely retained physical features (e.g., thickness of the bilayer, fluidity). Electrophysical and spectroscopical studies have been performed to assess the appUcation potential of S-layer-supported lipid membranes. The S-layer protein used in aU studies on planar BLMs was isolated fromB. coagulans E38/vl. 

Figure 41-3. Diagrammatic representation of a phospholipid or other membrane lipid. The polar head group is hydrophilic, and the hydrocarbon tails are hydrophobic or lipophilic. The fatty acids in the tails are saturated (S) or unsaturated (U) the former are usually attached to carbon 1 of glycerol and the latter to carbon 2. Note the kink in the tail of the unsaturated fatty acid (U), which is important in conferring increased membrane fluidity.

The red blood cell must be able to squeeze through some tight spots in the microcirculation during its numerous passages around the body the sinusoids of the spleen are of special importance in this regard. For the red cell to be easily and reversibly deformable, its membrane must be both fluid and flexible it should also preserve its biconcave shape, since this facilitates gas exchange. Membrane lipids help determine membrane fluidity. Attached to the inner aspect of the membrane of the red blood cell are a number of peripheral cytoskeletal proteins (Table 52-6) that play important roles in respect to preserving shape and flexibility these will now be described. 

Liquid crystal sounds like a contradiction. Liquids are fluid, their molecules continually changing places in a manner that is not particularly well organized. Crystals are immobile, their molecules locked into fixed positions that form regular patterns. Yet, not only does this unusual combination of fluidity and regular patterns exist, it plays important roles in biological organisms. 

The lipid molecule is the main constituent of biological cell membranes. In aqueous solutions amphiphilic lipid molecules form self-assembled structures such as bilayer vesicles, inverse hexagonal and multi-lamellar patterns, and so on. Among these lipid assemblies, construction of the lipid bilayer on a solid substrate has long attracted much attention due to the many possibilities it presents for scientific and practical applications [4]. Use of an artificial lipid bilayer often gives insight into important aspects ofbiological cell membranes [5-7]. The wealth of functionality of this artificial structure is the result of its own chemical and physical properties, for example, two-dimensional fluidity, bio-compatibility, elasticity, and rich chemical composition. 

Fluidity is important for powder feed from the reservoir to the dipping bed and also to permit efficient closing in of the hole left by the dosator. 

Before the first indication of the existence of cannabinoid receptors, the prevailing theory on the mechanism of cannabinoid activity was that cannabinoids exert their effects by nonspecific interactions with cell membrane lipids (Makriyannis, 1990). Such interactions can increase the membrane fluidity, perturb the lipid bilayer and concomitantly alter the function of membrane-associated proteins (Loh, 1980). A plethora of experimental evidence suggests that cannabinoids interact with membrane lipids and modify the properties of membranes. However, the relevance of these phenomena to biological activities is still only, at best, correlative. An important conundrum associated with the membrane theories of cannabinoid activity is uncertainty over whether cannabinoids can achieve in vivo membrane concentrations comparable to the relatively high concentrations used in in vitro biophysical studies (Makriyannis, 1995). It may be possible that local high concentrations are attainable under certain physiological circumstances, and, if so, some of the cannabinoid activities may indeed be mediated through membrane perturbation. 

The binding of carotenoids within the lipid membranes has two important aspects the incorporation rate into the lipid phase and the carotenoid-lipid miscibility or rather pigment solubility in the lipid matrix. The actual incorporation rates of carotenoids into model lipid membranes depend on several factors, such as, the kind of lipid used to form the membranes, the identity of the carotenoid to be incorporated, initial carotenoid concentration, temperature of the experiment, and to a lesser extent, the technique applied to form model lipid membranes (planar lipid bilayers, liposomes obtained by vortexing, sonication, or extrusion, etc.). For example, the presence of 5 mol% of carotenoid with respect to DPPC, during the formation of multilamellar liposomes, resulted in incorporation of only 72% of the pigment, in the case of zeaxanthin, and 52% in the case of (1-carotene (Socaciu et al., 2000). A decrease in the fluidity of the liposome membranes, by addition of other... 

Contrary to the accumulated knowledge on the static or quasi-static characteristics of thin lipid films at air/water interface, less attention has been paid to the dynamical or nonequilibrium behavior of the film. Studies on the dynamical characteristics of thin lipid films may be quite important, because the life phenomena are maintained under nonequilibrium conditions. According to the modern biochemistry [11,12], thin lipid membrane in living cells is not a rigid wall but a thermally fluctuating barrier with high fluidity. In the present section, we will show that thin lipid film exhibits the various interesting dynamical tc-A characteristics, such as the "overshoot hump", the "zero surface pressure", and the "flat plateau". 

Solarization process increases soil temperatures up to levels lethal to many plant pathogens and pests and, therefore, direct thermal inactivation is the most important and normally expected mechanism. Some studies on the biochemical bases of sensitivity of organisms to high temperatures hypothesized that heat sensitivity is related to small differences in cell macromolecules, leading to a lethal increase of intra-molecular hydrogen, ionic, and disulfide bonds (Brock 1978). Sundarum (1986) suggested a reduced cell membrane function beyond an upper limit fluidity... 

Whatever the technique used, it is important to note that (i) only an equivalent viscosity can be determined, (ii) the response of a probe may be different in solvents of the same viscosity but of different chemical nature and structure, (iii) the measured equivalent viscosity often depends on the probe and on the fluorescence technique. Nevertheless, the relative variations of the diffusion coefficient resulting from an external perturbation are generally much less dependent on the technique and on the nature of the probe. Therefore, the fluorescence techniques are very valuable in monitoring changes in fluidity upon an external perturbation such as temperature, pressure and addition of compounds (e.g. cholesterol added to lipid vesicles alcohols and oil added to micellar systems). 

Generally, the properties of petroleum constituents varying over the boiling range 0 to >565°C (32 to 1050°F). Variations in density also occur over the range 0.6 to 1.3, and pour points can vary from <0 to >100°C. Although these properties may seem to be of lower consequence in the grand scheme of environmental cleanup, they are important insofar as these properties influence (1) the evaporation rate, (2) the abihty of the petroleum constituents or petroleum product to float on water, and (3) the fluidity or mobility of the petroleum or petroleum product at various temperatures. 

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