Investigating the order parameters of saturated lipid molecules under various curvature conditions on spherical supported lipid bilayers.

The conformations and motions of lipid molecules under different membrane curvatures have important implications for transmembrane protein function, binding events, and overall membrane organization. This work reports on the local order parameters of saturated lipid molecules, as measured by (13)C NMR relaxation, under several curvature conditions to probe structural changes as a function of lipid bilayer curvature. Different curvature conditions are created by depositing phosphatidylcholine membranes on spherical beads of various diameters. The findings reveal that the order parameters are not a continuous function of the membrane curvature. While small (30 nm) and large (110 nm) diameter bilayers exhibit similar order parameters, bilayers with curvatures of 60-80 nm diameter show a consistently increased order parameter along the entire lipid molecule, indicating a higher packing density and lateral tension. Order parameters for curvatures between 60 and 80 nm also show molecular evidence for interdigitation.

Observing the translocation of a mitochondria-penetrating peptide with solid-state NMR.

A new class of penetrating peptides that can target the mitochondria with high specificity was recently discovered. In this work, we developed a model inner mitochondrial membrane, equipped with a transmembrane gradient, suitable for solid-state NMR experiments. Using solid-state NMR, we observed a mitochondria-penetrating peptide interacting with the model inner mitochondrial membrane to gain insight into the mechanism of translocation. The paramagnetic relaxation effect due to Mn(2+) ions on (13)C magic angle spinning NMR was used to measure the insertion depth of the peptide and its distribution in each monolayer of the membrane. We found that at low peptide concentration the peptide binds to the outer leaflet and at high concentration, it crosses the hydrophobic bilayer core and is distributed in both leaflets. In both concentration regimes, the peptide binds at the C2 position on the lipid acyl chain. The mitochondria-penetrating peptide crossed to the inner leaflet of the model membranes without disrupting the lamellarity. These results provide evidence that supports the electroporation model of translocation. We estimated the energy associated with crossing the inner mitochondrial membrane. We found that the transmembrane potential provides sufficient energy for the peptide to cross the hydrophobic core, which is the most unfavorable step in translocation.

Lipid domains in bicelles containing unsaturated lipids and cholesterol.

We have created a stable bicelle system capable of forming micrometer-scale lipid domains that orient in a magnetic field, suitable for structural biology determination in solid-state NMR. The bicelles consisted of a mixture of cholesterol, saturated lipid (DMPC), and unsaturated lipid (POPC), a mixture commonly used to create domains in model membranes, along with a short chain lipid (DHPC) that allows formation of the bicelle phase. While maintaining a constant molar ratio of long to short chain lipids, q = ([POPC]+[DMPC])/[DHPC] = 3, we varied the concentrations of the unsaturated lipid, POPC, and cholesterol to observe the effects of the components on bicelle stability. Using (31)P solid-state NMR, we observed that unsaturated lipids (POPC) greatly destabilized the alignment of the membranes in the magnetic field, while cholesterol stabilized their alignment. By combining cholesterol and unsaturated lipids in the bicelles, we created membranes aligning uniformly in the magnetic field, despite very high concentrations of unsaturated lipids. These bicelles, with high concentrations of both cholesterol and unsaturated lipid, showed similar phase behavior to bicelles commonly used in structural biology, but aligned over a wider temperature range (291-314 K). Domains were observed by measuring time-dependent diffusion constants reflecting restricted diffusion of the lipids within micrometer-scale regions of the bicelles. Micron-scale domains have never been observed in POPC/DMPC/cholesterol vesicles, implying that bilayers in bicelles show different phase behavior than their counterparts in vesicles, and that bilayers in bicelles favor domain formation.

Development of a functionalized xenon biosensor.

NMR-based biosensors that utilize laser-polarized xenon offer potential advantages beyond current sensing technologies. These advantages include the capacity to simultaneously detect multiple analytes, the applicability to in vivo spectroscopy and imaging, and the possibility of "remote" amplified detection. Here, we present a detailed NMR characterization of the binding of a biotin-derivatized caged-xenon sensor to avidin. Binding of "functionalized" xenon to avidin leads to a change in the chemical shift of the encapsulated xenon in addition to a broadening of the resonance, both of which serve as NMR markers of ligand-target interaction. A control experiment in which the biotin-binding site of avidin was blocked with native biotin showed no such spectral changes, confirming that only specific binding, rather than nonspecific contact, between avidin and functionalized xenon leads to the effects on the xenon NMR spectrum. The exchange rate of xenon (between solution and cage) and the xenon spin-lattice relaxation rate were not changed significantly upon binding. We describe two methods for enhancing the signal from functionalized xenon by exploiting the laser-polarized xenon magnetization reservoir. We also show that the xenon chemical shifts are distinct for xenon encapsulated in different diastereomeric cage molecules. This demonstrates the potential for tuning the encapsulated xenon chemical shift, which is a key requirement for being able to multiplex the biosensor.

Amplification of xenon NMR and MRI by remote detection.

A technique is proposed in which an NMR spectrum or MRI is encoded and stored as spin polarization and is then moved to a different physical location to be detected. Remote detection allows the separate optimization of the encoding and detection steps, permitting the independent choice of experimental conditions and excitation and detection methodologies. In the initial experimental demonstration of this technique, we show that taking dilute 129Xe from a porous sample placed inside a large encoding coil and concentrating it into a smaller detection coil can amplify NMR signal. In general, the study of NMR active molecules at low concentration that have low physical filling factor is facilitated by remote detection. In the second experimental demonstration, MRI information encoded in a very low-field magnet (4-7 mT) is transferred to a high-field magnet (4.2 T) to be detected under optimized conditions. Furthermore, remote detection allows the utilization of ultrasensitive optical or superconducting quantum interference device detection techniques, which broadens the horizon of NMR experimentation.

Applications of laser-polarized 129Xe to biomolecular assays.

The chemical shift sensitivity and significant signal enhancement afforded by laser-polarized 129Xe have motivated the application of 129Xe NMR to biological imaging and spectroscopy. Recent research done by our group has used laser-polarized 129Xe in biomolecular assays that detect ligand-binding events and distinguish protein conformations. The successful application of unfunctionalized and functionalized 129Xe NMR to in vitro biomolecular assays suggests the potential future use of a functionalized xenon biosensor for in vivo imaging.