Rationale and design of the Duke Electrophysiology Genetic and Genomic Studies (EPGEN) biorepository.

Background: Disturbances in cardiac rhythm can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. Many arrhythmias are known to have a heritable component, but the degree to which genetic variation contributes to disease risk and morbidity is poorly understood.

Methods And Results: The EPGEN is a prospective single-center repository that archives DNA, RNA, and protein samples obtained at the time of an electrophysiologic evaluation or intervention.

Perfluorooctyl bromide has limited membrane solubility and is located at the bilayer center. Locating small molecules in lipid bilayers through paramagnetic enhancements of NMR relaxation.

There is considerable interest in the use of perfluorocarbons as oxygen carriers in clinical settings; however, little is known regarding the molecular interactions made by these apolar compounds with biological membranes or their effect on membrane structure. NMR spectroscopy was used to investigate the interaction of perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) with 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) bilayers. (19)F NMR spectra demonstrate that PFOB partitions into POPC bilayers but that it saturates at a remarkably low membrane concentration of approximately 2 mol %.