Membrane assembly, catalysis

The role of catalysis in membrane assembly is emphasized again by the above model since the N-terminal sequence of the nascent polypeptide chain of a spanning protein is released by proteolysis as soon as it reaches the cytosol. The N-terminal polypeptide chain extension may help the chain penetrate the hydrophobic bilayer and solubilize the resulting hydrophobic N-terminal part of the chain in the aqueous medium of the cytoplasm. However, the role of the protease-catalyzed hydrolysis of the polypeptide chain in membrane assembly is minimized in the membrane trigger hypothesis (99). According to this model, the essential role of the leader sequence would be to modify, in association with the lipid bilayer, the folding pathway of the protein in such a way that the polypeptide chain could span the membrane. 

This presentation reports some studies on the materials and catalysis for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) in the author s laboratory and tries to offer some thoughts on related problems. The basic materials of SOFC are cathode, electrolyte, and anode materials, which are composed to form the membrane-electrode assembly, which then forms the unit cell for test. The cathode material is most important in the sense that most polarization is within the cathode layer. The electrolyte membrane should be as thin as possible and also posses as high an oxygen-ion conductivity as possible. The anode material should be able to deal with the carbon deposition problem especially when methane is used as the fuel. 

In the family of cation pumps, only the Na,K-ATPase and H,K-ATPase possess a p subunit glycoprotein (Table II), while the Ca-ATPase and H-ATPase only consist of an a subunit with close to 1 000 amino acid residues. It is tempting to propose that the p subunit should be involved in binding and transport of potassium, but the functional domains related to catalysis in Na,K-ATPase seem to be contributed exclusively by the a subunit. The functional role of the P subunit is related to biosynthesis, intracellular transport and cell-cell contacts. The P subunit is required for assembly of the aj8 unit in the endoplasmic reticulum [20]. Association with a j8 subunit is required for maturation of the a subunit and for intracellular transport of the xP unit to the plasma membrane. In the jSl-subunit isoform, three disulphide... 

Micellar catalysis in organic reactions kinetic and mechanistic implications, 8, 271 Micelles, aqueous, and similar assemblies, organic reactivity in, 22, 213 Micelles, membranes and other aqueous aggregates, catalysis by, as models of enzyme action, 17, 435... 

Self-assembled and spontaneously adsorbed monolayers offer a facile means of controlling the chemical composition and physical structure of a surface. As discussed later in Chapter 5, applications of these monolayers include modeling election transfer reactions, biomimetic membranes, nano-scale photonic devices, solar energy conversion, catalysis, chemical sensing and nano-scale lithography. 

A molecular assembly in the inner mitochondrial membrane carries out the synthesis of ATP. This enzyme complex was originally called the mitochon-drial A TPase or F ATPase because it was discovered through its catalysis of the... 

Finally, zeolite nanoparticles have been used as building blocks to construct hierarchical self-standing porous stmctures. For example, multilayers of colloidal zeolite crystals have been coated on polystyrene beads with a size of less than 10 p,m [271,272]. Also, silicalite-1 membranes with a thickness ranging from 20 to several millimeters and controlled mesoporosity [273] have been synthesized by the self-assembly of zeolite nanocrystals followed by high-pressure compression and controlled secondary crystal growth via microwave heating. These structures could be useful for separation and catalysis applications. 

Langmuir-Blodgett films may have value in many applied areas of traditional interest to the industrial chemist, such as adhesion, encapsulation, and catalysis. The permeability characteristics of monolayer assemblies may also find application as synthetic membranes for ultrafine filtration, gas separation, and reverse osmosis. For example, Albrecht et al. (44) proved the eflSciency of polymeric diacetylene monolayers on semipermeable supports in reducing the flow of CH4. One interesting possibility lies in using LB monolayers as lubricants in magnetic tape technology. Unpublished reports have indicated that frictional coeflScients can be reduced markedly when the tape is coated with a few monolayers. In applications such as those listed previously, difiSculties may well be encountered with the mechanical stability of the films. To date, relatively little research has been carried out in this area. 

Cm profiles from structural studies by circular dichroism or fluorescence spectroscopy can be readily validated by comparison with results from function. Several labeling methods exist to study self-assembly under meaningful high-dilution conditions (FRET [6] ECCD, exciton-coupled circular dichroism [67]). Validated Cm profiles from structural studies or from other functions such as catalysis can be used to dissect self-assembly in water with self-assembly in the bilayer membrane (Fig. 11.13B, a vs b) [21]. 

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