14.07.2009
РОССИЙСКАЯ АКАДЕМИЯ НАУК

УРАЛЬСКОЕ ОТДЕЛЕНИЕ

ИНСТИТУТ ХИМИИ TBEPДОГО ТЕЛА
   
| | | | |
| | | | | |
 14.07.2009   Карта сайта     Language По-русски По-английски
Новые материалы
Экология
Электротехника и обработка материалов
Медицина
Статистика публикаций


14.07.2009


Getting a look at water wires



13 July 2009



Indian chemists have trapped tiny strands of water inside peptide nanotubes - allowing the researchers to take a direct look at how small amounts of water behave in a confined environment. The research should improve predictions of how water molecules line up in nanotubes or biological channels - helping with future designs for fuel cells or medical treatments.


Water behaves differently at the nanoscale, forming into single-file arrangements known as 'water wires'. These are important in biology as they ferry protons through cell membranes, which is a crucial step in how most organisms produce energy. 


The mechanism behind this proton transfer is the classic Grotthuss chain, where hydrogen bonding lets protons hop between water molecules very rapidly. But predicting how this mechanism affects a single line of molecules has been challenging. Now, a team led by Padmanabhan Balaram at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore has taken a first-hand look at how the molecules are configured, providing a useful template for future studies. 












Cross-section of the peptide nanotube showing the entrapped water wire



© Padmanabhan Balaram




'Our work is the first example of experimentally characterising a water wire inside a completely hydrophobic tube,' Balaram told Chemistry World. 'This provides us with a precise  geometrical arrangement of the water molecules in single file - which can serve as a starting point for computer simulations of water in confined environments.'


Balaram's team started the project after finding a peptide that crystallises in a doughnut shape, leaving a tube in the centre just wide enough for a line of water molecules. Importantly, the water molecules do not interact with the sides of the tube, giving a clean picture of how they would likely behave in nature. 


This research may also aid studies into aquaporins - important proteins that regulate the flow of water through cells. However, although aquaporins do contain lines of single-file water, they are designed to not conduct protons, says David Marples, an expert on water channels at the University of Leeds, UK. 


'Therefore this paper is likely to be more relevant in the field of nano-engineering,' Marples continued, 'and also to structural biologists seeking to understand molecular mechanisms: such as the optimal spacing between water molecules and how they can be stabilised at that spacing.'


Lewis Brindley


 


Interesting? Spread the word using the 'tools' menu on the left.



References


U Raghavender et alJACS, 2009. DOI:10.1021/ja9038906


Дизайн и программирование N-Studio 
А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Э Ю Я
  • Chen Wev   honorary member of ISSC science council

  • Harton Vladislav Vadim  honorary member of ISSC science council

  • Lichtenstain Alexandr Iosif  honorary member of ISSC science council

  • Novikov Dimirtii Leonid  honorary member of ISSC science council

  • Yakushev Mikhail Vasilii  honorary member of ISSC science council

  • © 2004-2024 ИХТТ УрО РАН
    беременность, мода, красота, здоровье, диеты, женский журнал, здоровье детей, здоровье ребенка, красота и здоровье, жизнь и здоровье, секреты красоты, воспитание ребенка рождение ребенка,пол ребенка,воспитание ребенка,ребенок дошкольного возраста, дети дошкольного возраста,грудной ребенок,обучение ребенка,родить ребенка,загадки для детей,здоровье ребенка,зачатие ребенка,второй ребенок,определение пола ребенка,будущий ребенок медицина, клиники и больницы, болезни, врач, лечение, доктор, наркология, спид, вич, алкоголизм православные знакомства, православный сайт творчeства, православные рассказы, плохие мысли, православные психологи рождение ребенка,пол ребенка,воспитание ребенка,ребенок дошкольного возраста, дети дошкольного возраста,грудной ребенок,обучение ребенка,родить ребенка,загадки для детей,здоровье ребенка,зачатие ребенка,второй ребенок,определение пола ребенка,будущий ребенок