title: New molecular rods--characterization of their interaction with membranes.
abstract: Molecular rods are synthetical molecules consisting of a hydrophobic backbone which are functionalized with varying terminal groups. Here, we report on the interaction of a recently described new class of molecular rods with lipid and biological membranes. In order to characterize this interaction, different fluorescently labeled rods were synthesized allowing for the application of fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy based approaches. Our data show that the rods are incorporated into membranes with a perpendicular orientation to the membrane surface and enrich preferentially in liquid-disordered lipid domains. These characteristics underline that rods can be applied as stable membrane-associated anchors for functionalizing membrane surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Humboldt-University Berlin, Department of Biology, Invalidenstr. 42, D-10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nikolaus
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Czapla
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Möllnitz
authors.forename: Chris T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Höfer
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wessig
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D012997:Solvents; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D012997:Solvents