Principles of Artificial Membrane Transport of Ions by Synthetic Ionophores. In: Osa T, Atwood JL, editors. Inclusion Aspects of Membrane Chemistry. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands; 1991. pp. 59-110. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-011-3422-4_2]

Preorganized bis-thioureas as powerful anion carriers: chloride transport by single molecules in large unilamellar vesicles

Transmembrane anion carriers (anionophores) have potential in biological research and medicine, provided high activities can be obtained. There is particular interest in treating cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic illness caused by deficient anion transport. Previous work has found that anionophore designs featuring axial ureas on steroid and trans-decalin scaffolds can be especially effective. Here we show that replacement of ureas by thioureas yields substantial further enhancements. Six new bis-thioureas have been prepared and tested for Cl(-)/NO3(-) exchange in 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine/cholesterol large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs). The bis-thioureas are typically >10 times more effective than the corresponding ureas and are sufficiently active that transport by molecules acting singly in LUVs is readily detected. The highest activity is shown by decalin 9, which features N-(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)thioureido and octyl ester substituents. A single molecule of transporter 9 in a 200 nm vesicle promotes Cl(-)/NO3(-) exchange with a half-life of 45 s and an absolute rate of 850 chloride anions per second. Weight-for-weight, this carrier is only slightly less effective than CFTR, the natural anion channel associated with CF.

Mathematical modeling of a carrier-mediated transport process in a liquid membrane

An analysis of the reaction diffusion in a carrier-mediated transport process through a membrane is presented. A simple approximate analytical expression of concentration profiles is derived in terms of all dimensionless parameters. Furthermore, in this work we employ the homotopy perturbation method to solve the nonlinear reaction-diffusion equations. Moreover, the analytical results have been compared to the numerical simulation using the Matlab program. The simulated results are comparable with the appropriate theories. The results obtained in this work are valid for the entire solution domain.

Characterization of a condensed-phase membrane introduction mass spectrometry (CP-MIMS) interface using a methanol acceptor phase coupled with electrospray ionization for the continuous on-line quantitation of polar, low-volatility analytes at trace levels in complex aqueous samples

We report the development and application of a capillary hollow fibre membrane interface using methanol as an acceptor phase to deliver target analytes to an electrospray ionization source and a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Superior fluid handling systems lead to greater signal stability and membrane integrity for the continuous on-line monitoring of polar and charged analytes in complex aqueous samples with detection limits in the parts-per-trillion to parts-per-billion range. The system can be operated in either a continuous flow or a stopped acceptor flow mode - the latter giving rise to greater sensitivity. We report detection limits, enrichment factors and signal response times for selected analytes with polydimethylsiloxane and Nafion® polymer membrane interfaces. In addition, we demonstrate the use of this interface to detect pharmaceuticals and other contaminants in natural water and artificial urine. The improved sensitivity and analytical response times of our CP-MIMS system make it possible to continuously monitor dynamic chemical systems with temporal resolutions on the order of minutes. Presented is a comparison of the performance of CP-MIMS versus direct infusion electrospray ionization, demonstrating the potential advantages over direct infusion for trace analyte measurements in complex, high ionic strength samples. Furthermore, by continuously flowing a reaction mixture in a closed loop over the interface, we demonstrate the use of the system as an in situ reaction-monitoring platform for the chlorination of a model organic compound in aqueous solution.

Structure-activity relationships in cholapod anion carriers: enhanced transmembrane chloride transport through substituent tuning

Chloride transport by a series of steroid-based "cholapod" receptors/carriers was studied in vesicles. The principal method involved preincorporation of the cholapods in the vesicle membranes, and the use of lucigenin fluorescence quenching to detect inward-transported Cl-. The results showed a partial correlation between anion affinity and transport activity, in that changes at the steroidal 7 and 12 positions affected both properties in concert. However, changes at the steroidal 3-position yielded irregular effects. Among the new steroids investigated the bis-p-nitrophenylthiourea 3 showed unprecedented activity, giving measurable transport through membranes with a transporter/lipid ratio of 1:250 000 (an average of <2 transporter molecules per vesicle). Increasing transporter lipophilicity had no effect, and positively charged steroids had low activity. The p-nitrophenyl monourea 25 showed modest but significant activity. Measurements using a second method, requiring the addition of transporters to preformed vesicle suspensions, implied that transporter delivery was problematic in some cases. A series of measurements employing membranes of different thicknesses provided further evidence that the cholapods act as mobile anion carriers.