This presentation will describe the design, synthesis, and membrane properties of a family of tetraether lipids inspired from Archaea lipids. Archaea are a class of single-celled microorganisms that are evolutionarily distinct from other life forms, and are commonly seen as extremophiles that live in harsh environments such as hot springs, salt lakes, hydrothermal habitats, and the rumen of animals. Among the many characteristics that make these organisms quite different from either prokaryote or eukaryote organisms are the unusual structural features of their lipids that facilitate their survival in such extreme environments while retaining the capability to incorporate functional biomolecules. Here, we synthesized a series of novel membrane-spanning tetraether lipids inspired from Archaea to systematically examine the effects of 1) membrane tethering, 2) number and type of rings incorporated into the lipid chain, 3) type of hydrophilic head groups, and 4) incorporation of covalently-attached cholesterol groups on their capability to form robust membrane-forming materials. We will present results on the thermal stability and leakage properties of liposomes generated from this series of bio-inspired, synthetic lipids. These studies provide molecular level insight into some fundamental design principles that Archaea may have evolved to maintain membrane integrity in extreme environments.

Systematic study of structure-function relationships in synthetic, Archaea-inspired tetraether lipids

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.