Membrane Mimetic Chemistry

This volume had its birth from a symposium organized by the Macromolecular Secretariat of the American Chemical Society in Atlanta, GA, 1991. Since Macromolecular SeCretariat has five participating divisions-Polymer Chemistry; Polymer Materials: Science and Engineering Division; Colloid and Surface Chemistry Division; Cellulose, Paper and Textile Division; and Rubber Division-the speakers were invited from these disciplinaries and they are truly interdisciplinary in multidisciplinary areas. A number of papers are from the presentations at this symposium. However, some papers were subsequently invited to be sent in. Therefore, many papers have cited references with dates as late as this current year. This book emphasizes applications, and some of the papers were finished in 1993. Therefore, it is timely for scientists and engineers interested in this area of progress. For scientists and engineers who are not familiar with this field, since the development is still youthful, this volume will cover some new frontiers, such as electronics, medical devices, fossil fuels, asphaltics, geochemistry, and environmental engineering. With that in mind, this book can be very useful as a reference. We do include a number of review papers · in this volume. In summary, this book contains sixteen chapters with twenty-eight authors from various organizations and specialties.

A comprehensive reference on micelles and vesicles as membrane models. Describes the properties of different membrane mimetic agents and emphasizes such applications as those in enzymology, reactivity control, and solar energy. Includes thorough data tabulations and references to original research publications.

Biophysical Chemistry: Molecules to Membranes is a one-semester textbook for graduate and senior undergraduate students. Developed over several years of teaching, the approach differs from that of other texts by emphasizing thermodynamics of aqueous solutions, by rigorously treating electrostatics and irreversible phenomena, and by applying these principles to topics of biochemistry and biophysics. The main sections are: (1) Basic principles of equilibrium thermodynamics. (2) Structure and behavior of solutions of ions and molecules. The discussions range from properties of bulk water to the solvent structure of solutions of small molecules and macromolecules. (3) Physical principles are extended for the non-homogenous and non-equilibrium nature of biological processes. Areas included are lipid/water systems, transport phenomena, membranes, and bio-electrochemistry. This new textbook will provide an essential foundation for research in cellular physiology, biochemistry, membrane biology, as well as the derived areas bioengineering, pharmacology, nephrology, and many others.

There is no doubt that the field of artificial membrane transport using synthetic ionophores has advanced remarkably in the past 15 years due primarily to the synthesis of new ionophores. Even though the theoretical framework substantially predated this activity, the merging of theory with transport experiment has often been sketchy. The purpose of this outline has been to examine key examples to illustrate the underlying principles and to suggest how experimental variables dominate the results obtained. To a very good approximation the assumption of a "diffusion" regime is often justified, is easily confirmed experimentally and provides a clear framework for exploitation of the inherent selectivity of a given ionophore. Thus for synthetic chemists who wish a "quick and nasty" experiment to examine the question of selectivity, the recipe is clear: a mixture containing all ions of interest in a standard experiment for each ligand of interest using a moderately stirred (100-200 rpm) cell and analysis of the mixture produced on the OUT side of the cell at a fixed, small extent of transport. Together with duplicates and controls, this modest set of experiments will place the results on an unambiguous footing from which clear conclusions about each ionophore's characteristics are readily obtained. For those with more detailed interests in the transport process the demands are correspondingly higher.

Ls book is an account of what physical chemistry h . . to say about the structural, electrical and transport properties of biological membranes and their simplest model-the lipid bilayer. The accent throughout is on basic ideas. In contrast to the essentially descriptive ap proach characteristic of texts on membrane biochemistry, our underlying themes are the role of force and entropy in maintaining membrane organization, in determining the electric fields and ionic environment of membranes, and in regulating the passage of molecules and ions across membranes. Although experimental findings will always be the touch stone against which theory will be tried, no attempt is made to present an exhaustive survey of experimental data. On the other hand, there is discussion of the nature and limitations of the results obtainable by the major laboratory techniques. The treatment is at the level of an advanced undergraduate course or an introductory survey suitable for post graduate students carrying out research in biochemistry, biophysics, or physiology. The mathematical demands on the reader are trivial. The few forbidding equations appearing in Chapter 7 are soon whittled away to simple practical expressions. Although the current-voltage characteristics of nerves are traditionally the province of biophysics rather than physical chemistry, certain aspects relevant to the electrical activity of nerves are nevertheless included in this text, namely, mem brane and diffusion potentials and conductivity fluctuations. Where rival theories exist, conflicting convictions have been presented, but not necessarily accorded equal approbation. The author has a viewpoint.

The study of membranes has become of high importance in the fields of biology, pharmaceutical chemistry and medicine, since much of what happens in a cell or in a virus involves biological membranes. The current book is an excellent introduction to the area, which explains how modern analytical methods can be applied to study biological membranes and membrane proteins and the bioprocesses they are involved to.

Attempts to demonstrate how the physical chemistry of elementary processes in natural and artificial membranes are one and the same - even though the biological systems are extremely complex - and introduces new ideas which may change the face of membrane technology in the future.