Localization of trehalose in partially hydrated DOPC bilayers: insights into cryoprotective mechanisms |
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Authors: | Ben Kent Taavi Hunt Tamim A Darwish Thomas Hau? Christopher J Garvey Gary Bryant |
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Affiliation: | 1.Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Institute Soft Matter and Functional Materials, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, D-14109 Berlin, Germany;2.Bragg Institute, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Kirrawee DC, New South Wales 2232, Australia;3.Centre for Molecular and Nanoscale Physics, School of Applied Sciences, RMIT University, GPO Box 2476, Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia |
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Abstract: | Trehalose, a natural disaccharide with bioprotective properties, is widely recognized for its ability to preserve biological membranes during freezing and dehydration events. Despite debate over the molecular mechanisms by which this is achieved, and that different mechanisms imply quite different distributions of trehalose molecules with respect to the bilayer, there are no direct experimental data describing the location of trehalose within lipid bilayer membrane systems during dehydration. Here, we use neutron membrane diffraction to conclusively show that the trehalose distribution in a dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) system follows a Gaussian profile centred in the water layer between bilayers. The absence of any preference for localizing near the lipid headgroups of the bilayers indicates that the bioprotective effects of trehalose at physiologically relevant concentrations are the result of non-specific mechanisms that do not rely on direct interactions with the lipid headgroups. |
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Keywords: | anhydrobiology cryobiology lipid membrane membrane diffraction cryoprotection |
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