Aromatic isophthalamides aggregate in lipid bilayers: evidence for a cooperative transport mechanism

The synthesis and anion transport properties of a series of transmembrane anion transporters based on an isophthalamide scaffold with phenyl, naphthyl or anthracenyl central rings are reported. Anion transport studies using POPC vesicles, showed that the compounds have Hill coefficients >1. This is indicative of higher order complex formation, evidence that leads us to suggest that the compounds are not functioning solely as mobile carriers but rather that a cooperative transport mechanism is being observed. Fluorescence spectroscopy was used to show that the compounds aggregate in the phospholipid bilayer, which provides evidence that these compounds function as a self-assembled anion-conducting aggregate.