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A joint experimental and computational study illustrates that the partitioning of positively and negatively charged tryptophan in a phospholipid bilayer is significantly altered by a reversal in the head group dipole arrangement. Experiments were conducted using tryptophan as a fluorescent reporter of its local environment. Based on the experimental design in a recent publication ( Anderson , C. M. ; Cardenas , A. ; Elber , R. ; Webb , L. J. J. Phys. Chem. B 2018 , 123 , 170 - 179 ), we were able to determine that the arrangement of the head group dipole altered the degree of partitioning of charged tryptophan in the lipid bilayer. In parallel, atomically detailed simulations were performed for the two membrane systems. The simulation results are in accord with the experimental findings and support a simple molecular partition mechanism of electrostatic interactions with the head groups, glycerol linkers, and interfacial water dipoles.

The interactions between small molecules and lipid bilayers play a critical role in the function of cellular membranes. Understanding how a small molecule interacts with the lipid bilayer differently based on its charge reveals primordial mechanisms of transport across membranes and assists in the design of drug molecules that can penetrate cells. We have previously reported that tryptophan permeated through a phosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer membrane at a faster rate when it was positively charged (Trp+) than when negatively charged (Trp-), which corresponded to a lower potential of mean force (PMF) barrier determined through simulations. In this report, we demonstrate that Trp+ partitions into the lipid bilayer membrane to a greater degree than Trp- by interacting with the ester linkage of a phosphatidylcholine lipid, where it is stabilized by the electron withdrawing glycerol functional group. These results are in agreement with tryptophan's known role as an anchor for transmembrane proteins, though the tendency for binding of a positively charged tryptophan is surprising. We discuss the implications of our results on the mechanisms of unassisted permeation and penetration of small molecules within and across lipid bilayer membranes based on molecular charge, shape, and molecular interactions within the bilayer structure.

We investigate membrane permeation by the peptide WKW that is amidated at its C-terminus and therefore carries a positive charge of +2. To facilitate an efficient calculation, we introduce a novel set of simple coarse variables that measure permeation depth and membrane distortion. The phospholipid head groups shift toward the center of the membrane, following the permeating peptide, and create a defect that assists permeation. The Milestoning algorithm was used in the new coarse space to compute the free-energy profile and the mean first passage time. The barrier was lower than expected from a simple continuum estimate. This behavior is consistent with the known behavior of positively charged cell-penetrating peptides, and is explained by a detailed mechanism of defect formation and propagation revealed by the simulations.

Biological membranes are heterogeneous structures with complex electrostatic profiles arising from lipids, sterols, membrane proteins, and water molecules. We investigated the effect of cholesterol and its derivative 6-ketocholestanol (6-kc) on membrane electrostatics by directly measuring the dipole electric field (F⃗d) within lipid bilayers containing cholesterol or 6-kc at concentrations of 0–40 mol% through the vibrational Stark effect (VSE). We found that adding low concentrations of cholesterol, up to ~10 mol%, increases F⃗d, while adding more cholesterol up to 40 mol% lowers F⃗d. In contrast, we measured a monotonic increase in F⃗d as 6-kc concentration increased. We propose that this membrane electric field is affected by multiple factors: the polarity of the sterol molecules, the reorientation of the phospholipid dipole due to sterol, and the impact of the sterol on hydrogen bonding with surface water. We used molecular dynamics simulations to examine the distribution of phospholipids, sterol and helix in bilayers containing these sterols. At low concentrations, we observed clustering of sterols near the vibrational probe whereas at high concentration, we observed spatial correlation between the positions of the sterol molecules. This work demonstrates how a one-atom difference in a sterol changes the physicochemical and electric field properties of the bilayer.

We report the collision behavior of single unilamellar vesicles, composed of a bilayer lipid membrane (BLM), on a platinum (Pt) ultramicroelectrode (UME) by two electrochemical detection methods. In the first method, the blocking of a solution redox reaction, induced by the single vesicle adsorption on the Pt UME, can be observed in the amperometric i-t response as current steps during the electrochemical oxidation of ferrocyanide. In the second technique, the ferrocyanide redox probe is directly encapsulated inside vesicles and can be oxidized during the vesicle collision on the UME if the potential is poised positive enough for ferrocyanide oxidation to occur. In the amperometric i-t response for the latter experiment, a current spike is observed. Here, we report the vesicle blocking (VB) method as a relevant technique for determining the vesicle solution concentration from the collisional frequency and also for observing the vesicle adhesion on the Pt surface. In addition, vesicle reactor (VR) experiments show clear evidence that the lipid bilayer membrane does not collapse or break open at the Pt UME during the vesicle collision. Because the bilayer is too thick for electron tunneling to occur readily, an appropriate concentration of a surfactant, such as Triton X-100 (TX100), was added in the VR solution to induce loosening of the bilayer (transfection conditions), allowing the electrode to oxidize the contents of the vesicle. With this technique, the TX100 effect on the vesicle lipid bilayer permeability can be evaluated through the current spike charge and frequency corresponding to redox vesicle collisions.

Lipid bilayer membranes are composed of hundreds of lipids, sterols and proteins, which organize in to a heterogeneous, structural scaffold that controls critical elements of biological function. The interactions of all of these molecules are mostly non-covalent and electrostatic in nature. These interactions and the diversity of molecules, along with ordered water molecules at the lipid-water interface gives rise to a large electrostatic field that traverses the lipid bilayer. The whole field can be broken down in to three components- transmembrane field, surface field and dipole field. We have extensively studied the membrane dipole field, which propagates from the interior of the lipid bilayer to the lipid head group-water interface, using vibrational Stark effect spectroscopy paired with molecular dynamics simulations. With our knowledge of how the dipole field can be altered due to a change in lipid bilayer composition, we are exploring what role this field plays in controlling the transport of ions through a membrane via transmembrane protein channels (TPCs). Gramicidin has been accepted as a good model for TPCs due to its ability to selectively transport ions with a +1 charge through the pore it creates when in its channel conformation. Using this well characterized model TPC we hope to elucidate how the structure and function can be changed via non-covalent interactions with other lipids, water molecules and sterols, specifically arising from the membrane dipole field. Using VSE spectroscopy, we have been able to begin to measure how gramicidin alters the dipole field of a pure phospholipid bilayer in the form of small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs). We are studying how the transport of +1 cations through the gramicidin channel and the structure of the TPC are affected by both small and large perturbations of the electrostatic field by intercalating sterols in to the lipid bilayer.