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Title: Calcium and zinc differentially affect the structure of lipid membranes

Journal Article · · Langmuir
ORCiD logo [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. Comenius Univ. in Bratislava, Bratislava (Slovakia); Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna - Moscow Region (Russia)
  2. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna - Moscow Region (Russia)
  3. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna - Moscow Region (Russia); Dubna State Univ., Dubna - Moscow Region (Russia)
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  5. Comenius Univ. in Bratislava, Bratislava (Slovakia)
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Interactions of calcium (Ca2+) and zinc (Zn2+) cations with biomimetic membranes made of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) were studied by small angle neutron diffraction (SAND). Experiments show that the structure of these lipid bilayers is differentially affected by the two divalent cations. Initially, both Ca2+ and Zn2+ cause DPPC bilayers to thicken, while further increases in Ca2+ concentration result in the bilayer thinning, eventually reverting to having the same thickness as pure DPPC. The binding of Zn2+, on the other hand, causes the bilayers to swell to a maximum thickness, and the addition of more Zn2+ does not result in a further thickening of the membrane. Agreement between our results obtained using oriented planar membranes and those from vesicular samples implies that the effect of cations on bilayer thickness is the result of electrostatic interactions, rather than geometrical constraints due to bilayer curvature. This notion is further reinforced by MD simulations. Lastly, the radial distribution functions reveal a strong interaction between Ca2+ and the phosphate oxygens, while Zn2+ shows a much weaker binding specificity.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1351793
Journal Information:
Langmuir, Vol. 33, Issue 12; ISSN 0743-7463
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 29 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)

Interactions between polystyrene nanoparticles and supported lipid bilayers: impact of charge and hydrophobicity modification by specific anions journal January 2019
Modeling of annexin A2—Membrane interactions by molecular dynamics simulations journal September 2017
The effect of vehicle on skin absorption of Mg2+and Ca2+from thermal spring water journal April 2020

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