Glycerol and glucose behavior at membrane interfaces
The biological membrane is essentially an impermeable lipid barrier. This allows for environment differences between the inside and outside of the cell, such as metabolite concentrations and pH. Even though the membrane is impermeable, given enough time, virtually any molecule will diffuse through a protein-free lipid bilayer. Since the cell requires the fast transport of large or charged molecules through the membrane, the membrane contains proteins that specifically transport these across the membrane. Glycerol is a molecule that can diffuse freely through the membrane while its dimer, glucose, does not. Glucose is of particular importance as its excess in the bloodstream is toxic and is associated with the disease diabetes. Insulin is needed to signal the uptake of glucose into the cell. Recent studies however show that insulin resistance (one of diabetes type 2 characteristics) has been correlated by a change in the lipid make up and thus permeability of muscle cells. We propose to study the diffusion properties of glycerol and glucose through model membranes to obtain insight into this lipid composition based diffusion arrest behavior.
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PEREZ-SALAS Ursula; BREIDIGAN Jeffrey and PORCAR Lionel. (2013). Glycerol and glucose behavior at membrane interfaces. Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) doi:10.5291/ILL-DATA.9-13-508
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