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Emerging Roles of Air Gases in Lipid Bilayers
Author(s) -
Lee ChiaWei,
Chiang YaLing,
Liu JiTing,
Chen YiXian,
Lee ChauHwang,
Chen YengLong,
Hwang IngShouh
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201802133
Subject(s) - lipid bilayer , membrane , lipid bilayer phase behavior , lipid bilayer mechanics , biophysics , chemical physics , molecular dynamics , chemistry , ternary operation , lipid oxidation , materials science , organic chemistry , biochemistry , computational chemistry , computer science , biology , programming language , antioxidant
Recent studies indicate that changing the physical properties of lipid bilayers may profoundly change the function of membrane proteins. Here, the effects of dissolved nitrogen and oxygen molecules on the mechanical properties and stability of lipid bilayers are investigated using differential confocal microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations. All experiments evidence the presence of dissolved air gas in lipid bilayers prepared without gas control. The lipid bilayers in degassed solutions are softer and less stable than those in ambient solutions. High concentrations of nitrogen increase the bending moduli and stability of the lipid bilayers and impede phase separation in ternary lipid bilayers. The effect of oxygen is less prominent. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that higher nitrogen affinity accounts for increased rigidity. These findings have fundamental and wide implications for phenomena related to lipid bilayers and cell membranes, including the origin of life.