Q-lipid-containing membranes show high in-plane conductivity using a membrane-on-a-chip setup

Autor: Ulrich Ramach, Jakob Andersson, Rosmarie Schöfbeck, Markus Valtiner
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: iScience, Vol 26, Iss 2, Pp 105918- (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2589-0042
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105918
Popis: Summary: The light-driven reactions of photosynthesis as well as the mitochondrial power supply are located in specialized membranes containing a high fraction of redox-active lipids. In-plane charge transfer along such cell membranes is currently thought to be facilitated by the diffusion of redox lipids and proteins. Using a membrane on-a-chip setup, we show here that redox-active model membranes can sustain surprisingly high currents (mA) in-plane at distances of 25 μm. We also show the same phenomenon in free-standing monolayers at the air-water interface once the film is compressed such that the distance between redox centers is below 1 nm. Our data suggest that charge transfer within cell walls hosting electron transfer chains could be enabled by the coupling of redox-lipids via simultaneous electron and proton in-plane hopping, similar to conductive polymers. This has major implications for our understanding of the role of lipid membranes, suggesting that Q-lipid-containing membranes may be essential for evolving the complex redox machineries of life.
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