Early Stage UV-B Induced Molecular Modifications of Human Eye Lens γD-Crystallin.

In the human eye lenses, the crystallin proteins facilitate transparency, light refraction, as well as UV light protection. A deregulated balanced interplay between α-, β-, and γ-crystallin can cause cataract. γD-crystallin (hγD) is involved in the energy dissipation of absorbed UV light by energy transfer between aromatic side chains.

Filling the Gap with Long -Alkanes: Incorporation of C20 and C30 into Phospholipid Membranes.

Investigating how hydrophobic molecules mix with phospholipid bilayers and how they affect membrane properties is commonplace in biophysics. Despite this, a molecular-level empirical description of a membrane model as simple as a phospholipid bilayer with long linear hydrophobic chains incorporated is still missing. Here, we present an unprecedented molecular characterization of the incorporation of two long -alkanes, -eicosane (C20) and -triacontane (C30) with 20 and 30 carbons, respectively, in phosphatidylcholine (PC) bilayers using a combination of experimental techniques (H NMR, P NMR, H-C dipolar recoupling solid-state NMR, X-ray scattering, and cryogenic electron microscopy) and atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.