Partitioning behaviour of 1-hexanol into lipid membranes as studied by deuterium NMR spectroscopy.

Journal article

Deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to study the partitioning behaviour of 1-hexanol specifically deuterated in the alpha-position into model lipid bilayers. In all systems studied, the observed deuterium NMR lineshapes were time-dependent. Initially, 1-hexanol-d2 gave rise to an isotropic deuterium resonance with a different chemical shift from that of aqueous 1-hexanol-d2. After equilibration over a period of days, a broader spectral component characteristic of a spherically-averaged powder-pattern was observed. The quadrupole anisotropy of the 1-hexanol-d2 giving rise to the broad spectrum depended upon the cholesterol content of the membrane. From quantitation of the anisotropic to isotropic deuterium NMR spectra, the partition coefficients of 1-hexanol-d2 in a number of bilayer systems (asolectin and phosphatidylcholine bilayers (the latter with and without cholesterol] were determined. The partitioning of 1-hexanol-d2 into red blood cell membranes, and a suspension of lipids extracted from red blood cell membranes, was also examined. It is suggested that 1-hexanol, and probably other lipophiles, can partition to either the bilayer surface or the bilayer interior in a time-dependent manner.

Authors: Fraser, D; Van Gorkom, L; Watts, A

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Biochimica et biophysica acta
• Volume: 1069
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 53-60
• Publication date: 1991-10-01
• DOI: 10.1016/0005-2736(91)90103-f
• ISSN: 0006-3002
• Language: English
• Keywords: Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine; Lipid Bilayers; Lipids; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Erythrocyte Membrane; Hexanols; Deuterium; Suspensions; Humans