Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Synthetic ether-linked bolaform amphiphile vesicles and a novel gramicidin-porphyrin “diad” have been prepared. Photoinduced electron transfer properties of the diad were compared in bilayer (dihexadecylphosphate, DHP) and monolayer (2,2′-0-didecyl-1,1′-0-eicosamethylene-racdiglycero- 3,3′-diphosphoric acid, PS20) membrane vesicles with dithiothreitol sacrificial donor and methyl viologen electron acceptor present on both vesicle membrane surfaces. Although the rates of methyl viologen photoreduction varied depending on the mode of diad orientation within DHP bilayer membranes, photoreduction rates were not orientation-dependent in bolaform membrane vesicles containing the gramicidinporphyrin diad. The relevance of these results on vectorial electron transfer processes in closed membrane systems is briefly discussed.