SYNTHESIS/SYNLETT Best Paper Awards 2023

In the ocean, a reaction occurs in a compartment inside the enzyme cell called an anammoxosome. Hydro is a by-product of this process. Hydrazine is toxic to the cell, so it was believed that the membrane prevents hydrazine from crossing. This is where ladderane phospholipids were isolated. However, there is a pH difference across the membrane. Inside the anammoxosome, the pH is 6.3, while outside it is 7.3. In 2018, Stephen Boxer and Noah Burns from Stanford found that the membrane does not stop the formation of hydrogen but instead prevents the formation of protons across the membrane. This pH gradient leads to the proton motive force, responsible for ATP synthesis in the cell.