Amino-acid derivatives of fullerene C60 behave as lipophilic ions penetrating through biomembranes

It was found using potential-sensitive probes that the water-soluble amino-acid derivatives of fullerene C60, such as C60-Pro, C60-ɛ aminocapronic acid, and C60-Arg, possess a pronounced membranotropic activity. The first two cause concentration-dependent dissipation of the membrane potential (Δψ) of the symbiosomes of the nodules of the yellow lupine generated in the presence of ATP and Mg2+ ions. In contrast to the first two derivatives, C60-Arg, which carries a strong positive charge at the physiological pH, has no effect on the dissipation of Δψ in this model. On the contrary, this derivative caused a noticeable dissipation of the K+ diffusion potential (“minus” inside) generated on the membrane of human erythrocytes with the help of the K+ ionophore of valinomycin. The regularities obtained indicate that the derivatives of C60 are transported across biological membranes as lipophil ions, thus causing depolarization of the membranes.

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