Properties of lipid bilayer membranes examined with time-resolved fluorescence and Raman spectroscopies

• Main Author: Iwata, Koichi
• Other Authors: Proc. Of the 7th Asian Spectroscopy Conference (ASC 2020)
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Science::Chemistry; Lipid Bilayer Membranes; Lipid Raft
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/143082
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Biomembranes host a large number of chemical reactions that are vital for biological activities. It is therefore important to examine the mechanism of biochemical reactions that proceed at the biomembranes. The biomembranes are formed by lipid bilayer membranes of phospholipids, having two saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbon chains with typically 12 to 18 carbons in each chain. Membrane proteins, often acting as enzymes, and cholesterol are major constituents of the biomembranes as well. We study artificial lipid bilayer membranes as simple and good model structures for biomembranes by characterizing their properties with spectroscopic experiments. The lipid bilayer membranes for this purpose are a thin layer of bilayers with a thickness of 5 nm. The thin sheet of oil assembled in water is not commonly used as a reaction medium for chemical syntheses. It should act differently from ordinary solvents when it hosts chemical reactions. We try to estimate the viscosity, polarity and thermal diffusivity, which usually characterize the properties of bulk solvents, of the lipid bilayer membranes with time-resolved fluorescence and time-resolved Raman spectroscopies.