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Contribution of omega-3 fatty acids to the thermodynamics of membrane protein solvation.

Grossfield A, Feller SE, Pitman MC

Recent NMR experiments and molecular dynamics simulations have indicated that rhodopsin is preferentially solvated by omega-3 fatty acids compared to saturated chains. However, to date no physical theory has been advanced to explain this phenomenon. The present work presents a novel thermodynamic explanation for this preferential solvation based on statistical analysis of 26,100 ns all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of rhodopsin in membranes rich in polyunsaturated chains. The results indicate that the preferential solvation by omega-3 chains is entropically driven; all chains experience an entropic penalty when associating with the protein, but the penalty is significantly larger for saturated chains.

Published 4 May 2006 in J Phys Chem B Condens Matter Mater Surf Interfaces Biophys, 110(18): 8907-9.
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