First Name:
Jillian
Last Name:
Tingle
Major Department:
Chemistry
Thesis Director:
Jennifer Cecile
Date of Thesis:
May 2013
In order for a cell to survive, molecules are transported across the selectively permeable membrane. The cell can do this by simple diffusion or with a transport protein. OCTs are membrane transporters that export a variety of positively charged xenobiotics out of epithelia organs such as the liver or kidney. Organic cations include endogenous compounds such as some neurotransmitters and coenzymes, but also drugs and xenobiotics. Most OCT substrates are small, having molar masses of less than 500 g/mol and diameters as short at 4 A.1 Common substrates of OCTs include l-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), tetraethylammonium (TEA), tetramethyammonium (TMA), quinacrine, and 4'-6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), rhodamine and cimetidine. The structures of these molecules are found in Figure 1. Some weak bases are substrates of the OCT due to their protonation at physiological pH. As well, some organic cations have pharmacological uses, as shown in Table 1. This has relevance in organic cation transport in those with diabetes if this condition limits transport of organic cations into the cell.