Hydrophobic transport

Most known transporters, T, move their substrates from the periplasm to the cytoplasm or vice versa. Under these conditions, a substrate dissolved in aqueous solution, Saq, generally binds to a hydrophobic transporter site according to the scheme shown on Eq. (1) ... 

The structure of cholic acid helps us understand how bile salts such as sodium tauro cholate promote the transport of lipids through a water rich environment The bot tom face of the molecule bears all of the polar groups and the top face is exclusively hydrocarbon like Bile salts emulsify fats by forming micelles m which the fats are on the inside and the bile salts are on the outside The hydrophobic face of the bile salt associates with the fat that is inside the micelle the hydrophilic face is m contact with water on the outside... 

In subsequent studies attempting to find a correlation of physicochemical properties and antimicrobial activity, other parameters have been employed, such as Hammett O values, electronic distribution calculated by molecular orbital methods, spectral characteristics, and hydrophobicity constants. No new insight on the role of physiochemical properties of the sulfonamides has resulted. Acid dissociation appears to play a predominant role, since it affects aqueous solubiUty, partition coefficient and transport across membranes, protein binding, tubular secretion, and reabsorption in the kidneys. An exhaustive discussion of these studies has been provided (10). 

Contaminant transfer to bed sediments represents another significant transfer mechanism, especially in cases where contaminants are in the form of suspended solids or are dissolved hydrophobic substances that can become adsorbed by organic matter in bed sediments. For the purposes of this chapter, sediments and water are considered part of a single system because of their complex interassociation. Surface water-bed sediment transfer is reversible bed sediments often act as temporary repositories for contaminants and gradually rerelease contaminants to surface waters. Sorbed or settled contaminants are frequently transported with bed sediment migration or flow. Transfer of sorbed contaminants to bottomdwelling, edible biota represents a fate pathway potentially resulting in human exposure. Where this transfer mechanism appears likely, the biotic fate of contaminants should be assessed. 

Godovac-Zimmerman, J. The structural motif of p-lactoglobulin and retinol-binding protein a basic framework for binding and transport of small hydrophobic molecules Trends Biochem. Sci. 

Chaperones bind to exposed hydrophobic surfaces of polypeptide substrates, and through either ATP-dependent or ATP-independent mechanisms facilitate the folding/assembly, intracellular transport, degradation, and activity of polypeptides. 

Lipoprotein metabolism is the process by which hydrophobic lipids, namely triglycerides and cholesterol, are transported within the interstitial fluid and plasma. It includes the transport of energy in the form of triglycerides from intestine and liver to muscles and adipose, as well as the transport of cholesterol both from intestine and liver to peripheral tissues, as well as from peripheral tissues back to the liver. 

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