Synthesis and Characterization of Mitochondria-Targeted Triphenylphosphonium Bolaamphiphiles

In this chapter we describe: (1) the procedure for the synthesis of four single chain bolaamphiphiles, displaying chains of 12, 16, 20 and 30 methylene units and triphenylphosphonium moieties as headgroups (TPP1-TPP4); (2) the methods used to characterize TPP1-TPP4 spontaneous aggregation in aqueous solution. We illustrate the determination of Krafft point and cac by conductivity measurements and the procedures used to investigate dimensions, morphology, and stability by dynamic and dielectrophoretic laser light scattering, dialysis, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy measurements.

Computational Models of Polymer Synthesis Driven by Dehydration/Rehydration Cycles: Repurination in Simulated Hydrothermal Fields

Cycles of biologically relevant reactions are an alternative to an origin of life emerging from a steady state away from equilibrium. The cycles involve a rate at which polymers are synthesized and accumulate in microscopic compartments called protocells, and two rates in which monomers and polymers are chemically degraded by hydrolytic reactions. Recent experiments have demonstrated that polymers are synthesized from mononucleotides and accumulate during cycles of hydration and dehydration, which means that the rate of polymer synthesis during the dehydrated phase of the cycle is balanced (but not dominated) by the rate of polymer hydrolysis during the hydrated phase of the cycle. Furthermore, depurination must be balanced by the reverse process of repurination. Here we describe a computational model that was inspired by experimental results, can be generalized to accommodate other reaction parameters, and has qualitative predictive power.