Interfacial Air/Water Proton Conduction from Long Distances by Sulfolobus solfataricus Archaeal Bolaform Lipids

The stability, structural organization, and the ability to transfer protons long distances have been investigated in monolayers formed from archael bolaform lipids at the air/water interface. The lipids employed were the fractions GroR2Gro (R represents an acyl group with variable chain length typically consisting of 0-4 cyclopentane rings and 40 isoprenoid residues) and GroR2GroNon-Ol (Non-ol represents nonitol) extracted from Sulfolobus solfataricus by hydrolysis of the cytoplasmic membrane. GroR2-GroNon-ol films exhibit a very peculiar behaviour: the monolayer surface pressure increases with time, regardless of its low or high initial value. This finding is related to the possibility of GroR2GroNon-ol molecules to assume an upright (a metastable) or a U-shaped (stable) configuration. In the gaseous state and in the collapsed state of the film, no lateral proton conduction was observed. However, in the pressure range 0 < pi < 25 mN/m for GroR2Gro and 0 < pi < 30 mN/m for GroR2GroNon-ol monolayers, a lateral proton conduction at the air/water interface was observed. The structural organization of these bipolar lipids at the air/water interface can be related to the lateral proton conduction; it is possible to conclude that whatever configuration these lipids may adopt, they are able to structure the air/water interface in a hydrogen bond network that supports lateral proton conduction. This process may be ascribed to a percolation phenomenon occurring when the polar lipid head groups form a structured lattice of hydrogen bonds.