Issue 31, 2019

Influence of polar co-solutes and salt on the hydration of lipid membranes

Abstract

The influence of the co-solutes TMAO, urea, and NaCl on the hydration repulsion between lipid membranes is investigated in a combined experimental/simulation approach. Pressure–hydration curves obtained via sorption experiments reveal that the repulsion significantly increases when the membranes are loaded with co-solutes, most strongly for TMAO. As a result, the co-solutes retain additional water molecules and therefore provide membranes with a fluid and more physiological environment. The experimental data are quantitatively reproduced in complementary solvent-explicit atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, which yield the chemical potential of water. Simulation analysis reveals that the additional repulsion arises from the osmotic pressure generated by the co-solutes, an effect which is maximal for TMAO, due to its unfavorable interactions with the lipid headgroup layer and its extraordinarily high osmotic coefficient.

Graphical abstract: Influence of polar co-solutes and salt on the hydration of lipid membranes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 এপ্রিল 2019
Accepted
15 জুলাই 2019
First published
18 জুলাই 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2019,21, 16989-17000

Influence of polar co-solutes and salt on the hydration of lipid membranes

A. Wolde-Kidan, Q. D. Pham, A. Schlaich, P. Loche, E. Sparr, R. R. Netz and E. Schneck, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2019, 21, 16989 DOI: 10.1039/C9CP01953G

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