Polarity dependence of EPR parameters for TOAC and MTSSL spin labels: correlation with DOXYL spin labels for membrane studies.
TOAC (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl-4-amino-4-carboxylic acid) is a nitroxyl amino acid that can be incorporated in the backbone of peptides. DOXYL (4,4-dimethyl-oxazolidine-1-oxyl) is a nitroxyl ring that can be attached rigidly at specific C-atom positions in the acyl chains of phospholipids. Spin-labelled phosphatidylcholines of the DOXYL type have been used previously to establish the transmembrane polarity profile in biological lipid bilayers [D. Marsh, Polarity and permeation profiles in lipid membranes, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87 (2001) 7777-7782]. Here, we determine the polarity dependence of the isotropic (14)N-hyperfine couplings, a(o)(N), and g-values, g(o), in a wide range of protic and aprotic media, for a TOAC-containing dipeptide (Fmoc-TOAC-Aib-OMe) and for a DOXYL-containing fatty acid (12-DOXYL-stearic acid). The correlation between datasets for TOAC and DOXYL nitroxides in the various solvents is used to establish the polarity profile for isotropic hyperfine couplings of TOAC in a transmembrane peptide. This calibration can be used to determine the location of TOAC at selected residue positions in a transmembrane or surface-active peptide. A similar calibration procedure is also applied to a(o)(N) and g(o) for the pyrroline methanethiosulphonate nitroxide (MTSSL) that is used in site-directed spin-labelling studies of membrane proteins.
Marsh
Derek
D
Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Abt. Spektroskopie, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. dmarsh@gwdg.de
Toniolo
Claudio
C
D016880:Anisotropy; D002138:Calibration; D003497:Cyclic N-Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry; D013113:Spin Labels / Q000138:chemical synthesis
D003497:Cyclic N-Oxides; D008563:Membrane Lipids; D009589:Nitrogen Oxides; D010743:Phospholipids; D013113:Spin Labels; C037109:2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxide-4-amino-4-carboxylic acid