Membrane modeling, self-assembled molecules

In the first step, lipid model membranes have been generated (Fig. 15) on the air/liquid interface, on a glass micropipette (see Section VIII.A.1), and on an aperture that separates two cells filled with subphase (see Section VIII.A.2). Further, amphiphilic lipid molecules have been self-assembled in an aqueous medium surrounding unilamellar vesicles (see Section VIII.A.3). Subsequently, the S-layer protein of B. coagulans E38/vl, B. stearother-mophilus PV72/p2, or B. sphaericus CCM 2177 have been injected into the aqueous subphase (Fig. 15). As on solid supports, crystal growth of S-layer lattices on planar or vesicular lipid films is initiated simultaneously at many randomly distributed nucleation... 

The fluid mosaic model conveniently describes how the constituent molecules are ordered, and it correctly describes, in first order, some of the membrane s properties. However, it does not give explicit insight into why the biological membrane has a particular structure, and how this depends on the properties of the constituent molecules and the physicochemical conditions surrounding it. For this reason, only qualitative and no quantitative use can be made of this model as it pertains to permeation properties, for example. It is instructive to review the physicochemical principles that are responsible for typical membrane characteristics. In such a survey, it is necessary to discuss simplified cases of self-assembly first, before the complexity of the biological system may be understood. The focus of this quest for principles will therefore be more on the level of the molecular nature of the membrane, rather than viewing a... 

Model systems have been developed for many of these ion-transport mechanisms in the context of bioorganic chemistry. Examples are the cyclic peptides, described by M. R. Ghadiri et al., that have antibiotic activity similar to that of ionophores, a property that is most probably caused by the ability of these peptides to self-assemble inside biological membranes into channels [1], Other compounds able to induce the formation of membrane pores are the bouquet-molecules introduced by J.-M. Lehn [2]. Artificial / -barrels have been developed by S. Matile s group [3]. Many host molecules used in bioorganic chemistry can serve as carriers for ions across membranes and have even made possible the development of systems with which active ion transport can be achieved [4]. 

Lipids are building blocks of model and real membranes, which can be combined with proteins and some other important biomolecules to simulate real membranes. The simplest model is hence the self-assembly of only one component of the complex membrane, in this case the lipids. These mono-component lipidic models are often employed in studies as their interaction with small molecules mimics the actual relationship between the cell membrane and a substrate. A commonly employed amphiphatic lipid, dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) (Figure 4.6.2), has been widely used to construct these cell membrane motifs, due to its high content in animal cells, and thus its tendency to mimic a valid animal ceU. The supramolecular organization of these (a) DPPC amphiphatic molecules lead to a (b) Langmuir monolayer, (c) bilayer, (d) micelle, and (e) vesicle, which are the available levels of modeling to mimic the cellnlar membrane. 

In the recent past, there have been a number of reports on self-assemblies of molecules as advanced materials or smart materials . Without question, the inspiration for this exciting work comes from the biological world, where, e.g., the lipid bilayer of cell membranes plays a pivotal role. In this cormection it should be stated that many other researchers have also described self-assembling systems such as the liposome. Liposomes are modeled after biomembranes, which have been extensively investigated since the late 1960s (see Table 1 for references). 

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