E. Anibal Disalvo - Böcker

This book presents a comprehensive and coherent picture of how molecules diffuse across a liquid that is, on average, only two molecules thick. It begins by characterizing bilayers structurally, using X-ray diffraction, and then mechanically by measuring elastic moduli and mechanisms of failure. Emphasis is placed on the stability and mechanical properties of plant membranes that are subject to very large osmotic and thermal stresses. Using this information, the transport of molecules of increasing complexity across bilayers is analyzed.

This second edition provides a detailed overview of the properties of water in restricted systems and its essential role in biological responses. It examines the structure and properties of water in crowded molecular environments, exploring hydrogen bonding and the dynamics of water in confined spaces such as biomembranes.The main topics include the analysis of the distribution of water populations at the membrane of different composition introducing and discussing the difference between interfaces and interphases on thermodynamic backgrounds. The emergent thermodynamic and dynamic picture arising from these arrangements, the configuration of specific regions, such domains and defects, that may catalyze the binding of biologically relevant compounds, and the role of water in signal propagation are relevant topics in this edition.Within this approach, the impact of cholesterol on the structuring of water in membranes, followed by advanced spectroscopic methodologies and molecular dynamics is also highlighted. Finally, the book examines the thermodynamic contributions of water to nerve impulses and the importance of hydrogen bonds in complex environments challenging the classical models of membranes. Bringing together experimental, computational, and theoretical perspectives, this book is an invaluable resource for understanding and evaluating how the properties of water shape essential biological functions, offering new insights for biophysicists and chemists interested in the molecular basis of life.

This book is about the importance of water in determining the structure, stability and responsive behavior of biological membranes. Water confers to lipid membranes unique features in terms of surface and mechanical properties. The analysis of the hydration forces, plasticiser effects, controlled hydration, formation of microdomains of confined water suggests that water is an active constituent in a water-lipid system.The chapters describe water organization at the lipid membrane–water interphase, the water penetration, the long range water structure in the presence of lipid membranes by means of X-ray and neutron scattering, general polarization, fluorescent probes, ATR-FTIR and near infrared spectroscopies, piezo electric methods, computer simulation and surface thermodynamics.Permeation, percolation, osmotic stress, polarization, protrusion, sorption, hydrophobicity, density fluctuations are treated in detail in self-assembled bilayers. Studies in lipid monolayers show the correlation of surface pressure with water activity and its role in peptide and enzyme interactions. The book concludes with a discussion on anhydrobiosis and the effect of water replacement in microdomains and its consequence for cell function. New definitions of lipid/water interphases consider water not only as a structural-making solvent but as a mediator in signalling metabolic activity, modulating protein insertion and enzymatic activity, triggering oscillatory reactions and functioning of membrane bound receptors. Since these effects occur at the molecular level, membrane hydration appears fundamental to understand the behavior of nano systems and confined environments mimicking biological systems.These insights in structural, thermodynamical and mechanical water properties give a base for new paradigms in membrane structure and function for those interested in biophysics, physical chemistry, biology, bio and nano medicine, biochemistry,biotechnology and nano sciences searching for biotechnological inputs in human health, food industry, plant growing and energy conversion.