Membrane lipid alkyl chain heterogeneity is a molecular transform of the available thermal energy spectrum

Journal Article · Thu Mar 09 00:00:00 EST 1995 · Journal of Physical Chemistry; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/j100010a060· OSTI ID:6482181

Hollingsworth, R I ^[1]

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1. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)

The alkyl chain length distribution of a common gram positive bacterium has been examined from the perspective of their intrinsic longitudinal accordian mode frequencies and their potential roles in coupling the thermal energies of cellular processes to the available ambient thermal energy spectrum. The alkyl chain length distribution is such that the corresponding longitudinal accordian mode energies are normally distributed about kT at the growth temperature of the bacteria. The relationship between this distribution and the Maxwellian distribution of energies of molecules indicates that membranes of living systems may be capable of dynamically tuning their low-frequency vibrational modes to interface the cell with its surroundings at the maximum of the available kinetic energy curve. Isotope perturbation studies and analysis of previous published studies on the effect of temperature on membrane alkyl chain length were used to support the latter observation. These results also suggest that biological membranes can control the dynamics of macromolecules inside of the cell since the broad spectrum of translational quanta from the stochastic collisions of the solvent molecules outside of the cell are converted into highly tailored, specific, oriented waves on passing through the membrane into the cell. 11 refs., 5 figs.

• OSTI ID: 6482181
• Journal Information: Journal of Physical Chemistry; (United States), Vol. 99:10; ISSN 0022-3654
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
BACTERIA
ENERGY SPECTRA
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
MEMBRANES
MOLECULAR STRUCTURE
MOLECULE COLLISIONS
PROBABILITY
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
VIBRATIONAL STATES
COLLISIONS
ENERGY LEVELS
EXCITED STATES
MICROORGANISMS
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
SPECTRA
550700* - Microbiology
400102 - Chemical & Spectral Procedures
664100 - Theory of Electronic Structure of Atoms & Molecules- (1992-)