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Flying Protons in Linked Gramicidin A Channels
Author(s) -
Cukierman Samuel
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
israel journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.908
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1869-5868
pISSN - 0021-2148
DOI - 10.1002/ijch.199900047
Subject(s) - chemistry , dimer , proton , gramicidin , aqueous solution , conductance , proton transport , analytical chemistry (journal) , water dimer , membrane , hydrogen bond , chromatography , molecule , organic chemistry , physics , mathematics , biochemistry , quantum mechanics , combinatorics
Different lines of evidence indicate that the mobility of protons in gramicidin A (gA) channels as well as in its SS dioxolane linked dimer (SS dimer) is comparable to the proton mobility in aqueous HCl solutions. Single‐channel proton conductances in the SS dimer were measured under different experimental conditions. Bulk conductivities of HCl solutions were also measured. Ratios between calculated proton mobilities in the SS dimer and in aqueous solutions varied between 0.75 and 0.10 in the HCl concentration range of 10–6000 mM. Proton mobility in the SS dimer is profoundly affected by the lipid composition of the membrane. Attenuation of proton conduction in the SS dimer and in solution by methanol have similar characteristics. It is proposed that methanol partitions inside the pore of the SS dimer and attenuates proton conductance.