Biomaterial Database

Transverse distribution of alpha-tocopherol in bilayer membranes studied by fluorescence quenching. 1989

R H Bisby, and S Ahmed

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Salford, U.K.

The fluorescence properties of alpha-tocopherol in a range of solvents and in micelles and membrane vesicles have been measured. In solvents the fluorescence decay was fitted by a single exponential. In bilayer membranes of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine or egg phosphatidylcholine the fluorescence decay was more accurately fitted as a double exponential. This may indicate that alpha-tocopherol occupies two or more sites in such membranes. Depth-dependent quenching of alpha-tocopherol fluorescence by acrylamide and some doxyl stearates has also been studied. The results confirm that in gel-phase lipid the chromanol group has a transverse distribution close to the head-group region of the lipid. In fluid phase lipid in the presence of buffer the results indicate there is more penetration of the chromanol group into the bilayer.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008051	Lipid Bilayers	Layers of lipid molecules which are two molecules thick. Bilayer systems are frequently studied as models of biological membranes.	Bilayers, Lipid,Bilayer, Lipid,Lipid Bilayer
D008081	Liposomes	Artificial, single or multilaminar vesicles (made from lecithins or other lipids) that are used for the delivery of a variety of biological molecules or molecular complexes to cells, for example, drug delivery and gene transfer. They are also used to study membranes and membrane proteins.	Niosomes,Transferosomes,Ultradeformable Liposomes,Liposomes, Ultra-deformable,Liposome,Liposome, Ultra-deformable,Liposome, Ultradeformable,Liposomes, Ultra deformable,Liposomes, Ultradeformable,Niosome,Transferosome,Ultra-deformable Liposome,Ultra-deformable Liposomes,Ultradeformable Liposome
D008823	Micelles	Particles consisting of aggregates of molecules held loosely together by secondary bonds. The surface of micelles are usually comprised of amphiphatic compounds that are oriented in a way that minimizes the energy of interaction between the micelle and its environment. Liquids that contain large numbers of suspended micelles are referred to as EMULSIONS.	Micelle
D009994	Osmolar Concentration	The concentration of osmotically active particles in solution expressed in terms of osmoles of solute per liter of solution. Osmolality is expressed in terms of osmoles of solute per kilogram of solvent.	Ionic Strength,Osmolality,Osmolarity,Concentration, Osmolar,Concentrations, Osmolar,Ionic Strengths,Osmolalities,Osmolar Concentrations,Osmolarities,Strength, Ionic,Strengths, Ionic
D010713	Phosphatidylcholines	Derivatives of PHOSPHATIDIC ACIDS in which the phosphoric acid is bound in ester linkage to a CHOLINE moiety.	Choline Phosphoglycerides,Choline Glycerophospholipids,Phosphatidyl Choline,Phosphatidyl Cholines,Phosphatidylcholine,Choline, Phosphatidyl,Cholines, Phosphatidyl,Glycerophospholipids, Choline,Phosphoglycerides, Choline
D003497	Cyclic N-Oxides	Heterocyclic compounds in which an oxygen is attached to a cyclic nitrogen.	Heterocyclic N-Oxides,Cyclic N Oxides,Heterocyclic N Oxides,N Oxides, Cyclic,N-Oxides, Cyclic,N-Oxides, Heterocyclic,Oxides, Cyclic N
D006860	Hydrogen Bonding	A low-energy attractive force between hydrogen and another element. It plays a major role in determining the properties of water, proteins, and other compounds.	Hydrogen Bonds,Bond, Hydrogen,Hydrogen Bond
D000178	Acrylamides	Colorless, odorless crystals that are used extensively in research laboratories for the preparation of polyacrylamide gels for electrophoresis and in organic synthesis, and polymerization. Some of its polymers are used in sewage and wastewater treatment, permanent press fabrics, and as soil conditioning agents.
D012997	Solvents	Liquids that dissolve other substances (solutes), generally solids, without any change in chemical composition, as, water containing sugar. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)	Solvent
D013050	Spectrometry, Fluorescence	Measurement of the intensity and quality of fluorescence.	Fluorescence Spectrophotometry,Fluorescence Spectroscopy,Spectrofluorometry,Fluorescence Spectrometry,Spectrophotometry, Fluorescence,Spectroscopy, Fluorescence