| Paramagnetic contact shifts and relaxation rate enhancements from molecular oxygen dissolved in a model membrane, were studied by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The model membrane system was an isotropic bicelle formed using 1-myristelaidoyl-2-myristoyl-d27-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (MLMPC), a custom phospholipid, and 1-2-dihexanoyl-d22- sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DHPC). The 13C and 1H spectra of MLMPC were assigned. Molecular oxygen was delivered at external pressures of 20 and 50 atm. Paramagnetic contact shifts were found to scale with the oxygen solubility gradient in the lipid bilayer, were found to be invariant to temperature changes in the region studied (288K to 331K), and scaled linearly with changes in oxygen pressure. Relaxation rate enhancements from oxygen were low in the headgroup region and increased to a roughly constant rate in the acyl chain region. Rates were comparable to values predicted by simple thermodynamic theories which take into account the observed gradients in diffusion rates and solubility of oxygen in bilayers. |
