Phosphorus NMR analysis of phospholipids in detergents.

Various detergents can be used to dissolve phospholipids, resulting in very narrow 31PNMR resonances. The resonances are well resolved, allowing identification and quantitative analysis of phospholipids in a mixture. The chemical shift depends strongly on pH, reflecting changes in the state of ionization of the phospholipid headgroup moieties. Samples of phospholipids dissolved in aqueous detergents are conveniently prepared and give narrower 31P resonances than do phospholipids dissolved in organic solvents.     

Determination of the location of fluorescent probes attached to fatty acids using parallax analysis of fluorescence quenching: effect of carboxyl ionization state and environment on depth.

In this report, parallax analysis of fluorescence quenching (see the preceding paper in this issue) was used to determine the location (depth) of anthroyloxy and carbazole probes attached to model membrane inserted fatty acids. A monotonic increase in depth was found as the number of carbon atoms between the attachment site of the probe and the fatty acyl carboxyl group is increased. It was also found that depth is sensitive to pH, with an increase in probe depth upon protonation of the fatty acid carboxyl group of around 0.5-2.5 A, depending on probe location and identity. This result shows that carboxyl protonation causes an increase in depth all along a fatty acid chain. In addition, it indicates that parallax analysis is very sensitive to small changes in depth. At a given pH, no significant change in probe depth was observed in vesicles containing anionic phospholipid or at various ionic strengths, suggesting these parameters do not strongly regulate fatty acyl chain location. It was also found that there is a decrease of the apparent depth of each of the fatty acyl attached probes both at longer excitation wavelengths and at longer emission wavelengths. This is consistent with there being a distribution of depth for each fluorophore, with shallower fluorophore dominating the fluorescence at red-shifted wavelengths. Solvent relaxation effects also appear to contribute to this wavelength dependence.     

In vivo specific binding of [3H]1-nicotine in the mouse brain

[3H] 1-Nicotine was used as a receptor ligand in the intact mouse. It was injected i.v., and radioactivity in brain regions was assayed. Nonspecific binding was estimated by pretreatment with unlabelled 1-nicotine. Radioactivity entered the brain rapidly, was heterogeneously distributed, and declined after 5 min. Estimated specific binding was highest in the medial and posterior cortex, midbrain, thalamus/hypothalamus and medulla/pons; intermediate in the cerebellum, caudate/putamen, frontal and frontoparietal cortex; and lowest in the hippocampus and olfactory bulb. Autoradiography showed similar patterns. Coinjection of unlabelled 1-nicotine reduced specific binding so that it approached estimated nonspecific binding. Nicotinic agonists reduced radioactivity in the thalamus/hypothalamus, but nicotinic antagonists were less active. Non-nicotinic drugs did not reduce brain radioactivity. The results suggest that radiolabelled nicotine may be used for in vivo receptor studies despite problems in estimating nonspecific binding.