Abstract
Over the last two decades we have studied the transport of molecular oxygen within and across lipid bilayer model membranes and the lipid portion of biological membranes. Our method is based on the measurement of bimolecular collision rates between molecular oxygen (fast relaxing, unseen paramagnetic species) and nitroxide spin labels (slow relaxing, visible electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) species) in membranes by observing either the spin-lattice relaxation time (T 1) or the EPR line broadening of the spin label spectrum.1 The collision rate is proportional to the product of the local diffusion coefficient and the local concentration of oxygen at a place in the membrane where the nitroxide free-radical moiety is located. In that way, the profile of the oxygen diffusion-concentration product across the membrane can be obtained. This knowledge is important in understanding the basis for radiation and photodynamic therapy.2,3 Additionally, we developed a method to estimate the membrane oxygen permeability coefficient (P M ) from the profile of the oxygen diffusion-concentration product across the membrane.4 The overall conclusion from our studies is that membranes are not barriers to oxygen transport and oxygen concentration differences across membranes at physiological conditions are negligible. Only in membranes that are dense with integral proteins are lipids packed so closely that the solubility and diffusion of oxygen are severely reduced.
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References
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Subczynski, W.K., Hyde, J.S. (1998). Membranes. In: Hudetz, A.G., Bruley, D.F. (eds) Oxygen Transport to Tissue XX. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 454. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4863-8_48
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4863-8_48
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