title: Structure and dynamics of molecular rods in membranes: application of a spin-labeled rod.
abstract: Molecular rods consisting of a hydrophobic backbone and terminally varying functional groups have been synthesized for applications for the functionalization of membranes. In the present study, we employ a spin-labeled analogue of a recently described new class of molecular rods to characterize their dynamic interactions with membranes. By using the different approaches of ESR and NMR spectroscopy, we show that the spin moiety of the membrane-embedded spin-labeled rod is localized in the upper chain/glycerol region of membranes of different compositions. The rod is embedded within the membrane in a tilted orientation to adjust for the varying hydrophobic thicknesses of these bilayers. This orientation does not perturb the membrane structure. The water solubility of the rod is increased significantly in the presence of certain cyclodextrins. These cyclodextrins also allow the rods to be extracted from the membrane and incorporated into preformed membranes. The latter will improve the future applications of these rods in cellular systems as stable membrane-associated anchors for the functionalization of membrane surfaces.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Humboldt University Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Czapla
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nikolaus
authors.forename: Holger A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Scheidt
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wessig
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huster
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D003505:Cyclodextrins / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D013113:Spin Labels
chemical_list: D003505:Cyclodextrins; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D013113:Spin Labels