Self-assembly membrane pores

Figure 18.3 The orientation of a peptide in the membrane can be described by the tilt angle x and the azimuthal angle p. x is the angle between the bilayer normal (n) and the peptide long axis, p describes a rotation around the peptide long axis and must be defined with respect to a reference group as indicated by the white circle. In liquid-crystalline bilayers, peptides can usually also rotate around the membrane normal (shown by the dashed arrow). Three characteristic peptide orientations are shown in the S-state the peptide lies flat on the membrane surface with charged amino acids facing the water in the T-state the peptide is inserted with an oblique tilt into the membrane, possibly in a dimeric state (shown as a second peptide in white) and in the inserted l-state the peptide has a transmembrane orientation. In this state, the peptide may self-assemble into pores (shown here as a barrel-stave pore together with additional white peptides).

In both models facial amphiphilicity is the key factor. If the peptides are also long enough, they are able to span the entire membrane. Because of their facial amphiphilicity, self-assembly into pores is self-complementary and as a result pores can form with low aggregation numbers, typically around five monomers. As a result, the diameter of the pores formed by alpha-helical peptides are relatively small, however, sufficiently large to induce leakage of small molecules and ions, and becoming lethal for the cell. 

In reconstitution experiments, the self-assembly of the pore-forming protein a-hemolysin of Staphylococcus aureus (aHL) [181-183] was examined in plain and S-layer-supported lipid bilayers. Staphylococcal aHL formed lytic pores when added to the lipid-exposed side of the DPhPC bilayer with or without an attached S-layer from B coagulans E38/vl. The assembly of aHL pores was slower at S-layer-supported compared to unsupported folded membranes. No assembly could be detected upon adding aHL monomers to the S-layer face of the composite membrane. Therefore, the intrinsic molecular sieving properties of the S-layer lattice did not allow passage of aHL monomers through the S-layer pores to the lipid bilayer [142]. 

The next three chapters (Chapters 9-11) focus on the deposition of nano-structured or microstructured films and entities. Porous oxide thin films are, for example, of great interest due to potential application of these films as low-K dielectrics and in sensors, selective membranes, and photovoltaic applications. One of the key challenges in this area is the problem of controlling, ordering, and combining pore structure over different length scales. Chapter 9 provides an introduction and discussion of evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA), a method that combines sol-gel synthesis with self-assembly and phase separation to produce films with a tailored pore structure. Chapter 10 describes how nanomaterials can be used as soluble precursors for the preparation of extended... 

Here we show by sohd state F- and N-NMR that gramicidin S can re-ahgn in hpid bilayers and is able to self-assemble as a trans-membrane fi-barrel pore under biologically relevant conditions. 

Finally, Majda has investigated a novel inorganic membrane-modified electrode [32]. The membrane used was a microporous alumina prepared by anodizing metallic aluminum in an acidic electrolyte [33]. Majda et al. lined the pores of these membranes with polymers and self-assembled monolayers and studied electron and ion transfer down the modified pore walls to a substrate electrode surface [32]. Martin and his coworkers have used the pores in such membranes as templates to prepare nanoscopic metal, polymer, and semiconductor particles [34],... 

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]. 

Zemel, A., Fattal, D. R., and Ben-Shaul, A. (2003), Energetics and self-assembly of amphipathic peptide pores in lipid membranes, Biophys. J., 84,2242-2255. 

One of the potential applications of these ABC triblock copolymers was explored by Hillmyer and coworkers in 2005 [118]. They have prepared nanoporous membranes of polystyrene with controlled pore wall functionality from the selective degradation of ordered ABC triblock copolymers. By using a combination of controlled ring-opening and free-radical polymerizations, a triblock copolymer polylactide-/j-poly(A,/V-dimethylacrylamide)-ib-polystyrene (PLA-h-PDMA-h-PS) has been prepared. Following the self-assembly in bulk, cylinders of PLA are dispersed into a matrix of PS and the central PDMA block localized at the PS-PLA interface. After a selective etching of the PLA cylinders, a nanoporous PS monolith is formed with pore walls coated with hydrophilic PDMA. 

Although the objective of most absorption enhancers is to avoid direct interaction with the mucosal membrane, cell permeation enhancers use this as a means to increase drug absorption. One form of enhancer currently of interest consists of glycosylated molecules, or facial amphiphiles. It is claimed that these compounds temporarily increase membrane permeability. Molecules are designed to self-assemble in membranes to form transient pores that permit hydrophilic com-poimds to cross the membrane. This technology has considerable potential for absorption enhancement. No adverse effects have been reported to date. ... 

P (properdin) can also bind to the C3 convertase. Its role is to stabilize the complex and hence it is considered a cofactor-activator in the alternative pathway. These components plus additional C3b molecules form the C5 convertase, an enzyme complex that peoteolytically converts C5 to C5a and CSb. Properdin stabilizes C3b and Bb in the complex and protects these proteins from proteolytic inactivation by factor I. Factor H competes for Bb in the C5 convertases, the same as it does in the C3 convertase. The alternative pathway has also been called the properdin pathway because of properdin s participation in alternative pathway C3 and C5 convertases. C5b is a component in the terminal complex of the complement activation process, the MAC. The MAC is composed of a self-assembled, noncovalent complex of C5b, C6, C7, C8, and C9. Together these components produce a pore-like structure that makes the membrane of the cell to which it is attached permeable and causes cell death. Under the electron microscope the MAC appears like an impact crater similar to those observed on the surface of the moon. C5a is also an anaphylatoxin like C3a, but it is more potent. C5a is also a chemokine and attracts phagocytic cells to the site of complement activation. 

Keywords Block copolymers, Coarse-grained models, Collective phenomena. Computer simulation, Fusion, Lipid membranes, Monte Carlo techniques, Poly-mersome, Pore formation, Self-assembly, Self consistent field theory, Vesicle... 

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