AI Article Synopsis
- * Small molecules called ionophores and ion-transport proteins help facilitate these ion transfers, which are usually treated as simple one-step reactions.
- * New experiments reveal that the one-step model doesn't fully explain ion transfers for many ions; instead, a more complex mechanism involving temporary pairing and transport across a mixed-solvent layer is proposed.
Article Abstract
The transfers of hydrophilic ions between aqueous and organic phases are ubiquitous in biological and technological systems. These energetically unfavorable processes can be facilitated either by small molecules (ionophores) or by ion-transport proteins. In absence of a facilitating agent, ion-transfer reactions are assumed to be "simple", one-step processes. Our experiments at the nanometer-sized interfaces between water and neat organic solvents showed that the generally accepted one-step mechanism cannot explain important features of transfer processes for a wide class of ions including metal cations, protons, and hydrophilic anions. The proposed new mechanism of ion transfer involves transient interfacial ion paring and shuttling of a hydrophilic ion across the mixed-solvent layer.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja0656090 | DOI Listing |
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