Transmembrane Fluoride Transport: Direct Measurement and Selectivity Studies

Fluoride
has been overlooked as a target in the development of
synthetic anion transporters despite natural fluoride transport channels
being recently discovered. In this paper we report the direct measurement
of fluoride transport across lipid bilayers facilitated by a series of strapped
calix­[4]­pyrroles and show that these compounds facilitate
transport via an electrogenic mechanism (determined using valino­mycin
and monensin coupled transport assays and an additional osmotic response
assay). An HPTS transport assay was used to quantify this electrogenic
process and assess the interference of naturally occurring fatty acids
with the transport process and Cl– over H+/OH– transport selectivity.