Hydrodynamics of molecular rotors in lipid membranes

Molecular rotors form twisted conformations upon photoexcitation, with their fluorescent relaxation time serving as a measure of viscosity. They have been used to assess membrane viscosities but yield higher values compared to other methods. Here, we show that the rotor's relaxation time is inf...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2024-12
Main Authors: Suja, Vinny C, Oppenheimer, Naomi, Stone, Howard A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Fluorescence
Friction
Lipids
Membranes
Photoexcitation
Relaxation time
Rotors
Time measurement
Viscosity
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Molecular rotors form twisted conformations upon photoexcitation, with their fluorescent relaxation time serving as a measure of viscosity. They have been used to assess membrane viscosities but yield higher values compared to other methods. Here, we show that the rotor's relaxation time is influenced by a combination of membrane viscosity and interleaflet friction. We present a theory for the relaxation time and obtain a correction factor that accounts for the discrepancy. If the membrane's viscosity is known, molecular rotors may enable the extraction of the elusive interleaflet friction.
ISSN:2331-8422