The article “Hydration and counterion binding of aqueous acetylcholine chloride and carbamoylcholine chloride» (https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CP03543F) authored by a group of scientists from Germany, Slovenia and Russia, including two researchers from ISC RAS – Chief Researcher of Laboratory 1-2, Doctor of Chemical Sciences Marina V. Fedotova and Researcher of Laboratory 1-2, Candidate of Chemical Sciences Sergey E. Kruchinin – has been included in the HOT Articles 2021 collection by the Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (PCCP) journal.
The article applies a complex of methods (dielectric relaxation spectroscopy, conductivity measurements and statistical mechanics and quantum chemical calculations) to study the hydration and ion binding of the acetylcholine neurotransmitter and carbamoylcholine (carbachol) cholinergic agent with similar pharmacological properties. The action of these biocompounds as agonists of cholinergic receptors is important for neurotransmission in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Their deficit and malfunctioning may cause various neuropathologies. Among the factors that can affect the functions of neurotransmitters and cholinergic agents are their hydration and ion binding. These processes occur in the synaptic cleft where the ion channel activators –acetylcholine and carbamoylcholine – diffuse to the cell receptors on the postsynaptic membrane. The study published in the PCCP shows how hydration and association of the biocompounds can affect their subsequent binding to the receptors.
The most popular papers for the HOT Articles collection are selected annually by the editing board and reviewers of the journal. And this is the third time that our colleagues –M. Fedotova and S. Kruchinin – have received the HOT Articles status from the PCCP journal for their articles.
