Study of Segregation Effects and Fusion Between Lipid Vesicles by Combined Scanning Dilatometric and Calorimetric Measurements

Scanning dilatometric and calorimetric measurements were performed in order to obtain information on correlations between various phenomena involving a lipid vesicle. Scanning dilatometry has been shown to be a fast and reliable tool which gives complementary information to that obtained using differential scanning calorimetry and also, provides a means with which to follow dynamic processes without the introduction of perturbing probes into the lipid matrix. The systems examined were vesicles built up from mixtures of neutral and charged lipids in the presence of mono- and divalent inorganic cations. The studied processes were the gel-liquid crystal transition, lateral phase separation in mixed lipid vesicles and fusion between vesicles.     

PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF LIPID VESICLES CONTAINING MAGNETITE AND AN ANTICANCER DRUG

ABSTRACT

The preparation and physicochemical properties of lipid vesicles, containing magnetite (Fe³O⁴) and an anticancer agent (5-fluorouracil) were described. The possibility of using the resulting lipid vesicles as a targeting carrier was examined both in vitro and in vivo. From measurements of viscosity, the observational data in this study were found to be in fairly good accord with the theoretically derived viscosity equation described by Brinkman or Oliver and Ward. The resulting lipid vesicles containing very fine Fe³O⁴ particles were found to act as rigid spheres in solution. At a field strength of 4000?G, more than 80% of the lipid vesicles infused were found to be retained in the target site of the ear vasculature in rabbits.     

Incorporation of lipid domains in Cerasome, a morphologically-stable organic-inorganic vesicular nanohybrid

To extend the concept of the Cerasome, an organic-inorganic vesicular nanohybrid, this paper investigates the preparation and characterization of a “mixed” Cerasome. The system consists of a Cerasome-forming lipid 1, a cationic synthetic lipid 2, and a zwitterionic phospholipid 3. Lipid mixtures of 1 and 2 or 1 and 3 were used to prepare the mixed Cerasomes. Their lipid distributions were examined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which showed that 1 and 2 (or 1 and 3) were phase-separated in the mixed Cerasomes. These results seem to be mainly attributable to the polymerizable nature of 1. Results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) showed that 1 and 3 were both incorporated into a single Cerasome, not macroscopically separated to form separate vesicles from each lipid component. Mixed Cerasomes of 1 and 2 showed high morphological stability against a membrane-solubilizing surfactant, incorporating up to 70% of 2. On the other hand, the mixed Cerasomes from 1 and 3 were less stable than the mixed Cerasomes from 1 and 2. This relative instability might be attributable to differences between the mixed Cerasomes from 1 and 2 and 1 and 3 in terms of their vesicular sizes, lipid domain sizes, and their relative effectiveness for siloxane network formation. These results strongly support the formation of mixed Cerasomes that have lipid domains in-plane. Systems described in this study are useful to prepare variously mixed Cerasomes that have different surface functionalities and in-plane lipid distribution, but which have high morphological stability.     

Inter-Vesicle Signal Transduction Using a Photo-Responsive Zinc Ionophore

Transmission of chemical information between cells and across lipid bilayer membranes is of profound significance in many biological processes. The design of synthetic signalling systems is a critical step towards preparing artificial cells with collective behaviour. Here, we report the first example of a synthetic inter-vesicle signalling system, in which diffusible chemical signals trigger transmembrane ion transport in a manner reminiscent of signalling pathways in biology. The system is derived from novel ortho-nitrobenzyl and BODIPY photo-caged Zn^II transporters, in which cation transport is triggered by photo-decaging with UV or red light, respectively. This decaging reaction can be used to trigger the release of the cationophores from a small population of sender vesicles. This in turn triggers the transport of ions across the membrane of a larger population of receiver vesicles, but not across the sender vesicle membrane, leading to overall inter-vesicle signal transduction and amplification.     

Peptide meets membrane: Investigating peptide-lipid interactions using small-angle scattering techniques

Peptide–lipid interactions play an important role in defining the mode of action of drugs and the molecular mechanism associated with many diseases. Model membranes consisting of simple lipid mixtures mimicking real cell membranes can provide insight into the structural and dynamic aspects associated with these interactions. Small-angle scattering techniques based on X-rays and neutrons (SAXS/SANS) allow in situ determination of peptide partition and structural changes in lipid bilayers in vesicles with relatively high resolution between 1-100 nm. With advanced instrumentation, time-resolved SANS/SAXS can be used to track equilibrium and nonequilibrium processes such as lipid transport and morphological transitions to time scales down to a millisecond. In this review, we provide an overview of recent advances in the understanding of complex peptide–lipid membrane interactions using SAXS/SANS methods and model lipid membrane unilamellar vesicles. Particular attention will be given to the data analysis, possible pitfalls, and how to extract quantitative information using these techniques.     

Preparation of asymmetric bilayer-vesicles with inner and outer monolayers composed of different amphiphilic molecules

Asymmetric vesicles were prepared layer by layer from reverse micelles. The aqueous solution was first entrapped into reverse micelles prepared from lipid, then these reverse micelles penetrated the monolayer formed by another kind of amphiphilic agent at organic solvent/water interface by centrifugation and were assembled spontaneously by the second layer to form asymmetric vesicles. In general, the diameters of the vesicles ranged from 30 to 100 nm. A fluorescein quenching experiment showed that asymmetric vesicles with the inner layer being lipid and the outer layer being single-chain amphiphilic molecules, [(bpy)₂ Ru(diazafluorenone) (CH₂)₁₅CH₃](PF₆)₂, were successfully prepared. The half-life of flip–flop of the amphiphilic molecules between inner and outer layers was estimated to be about 17 days.     

Cation-mediated interaction of dextran sulfate with phospholipid vesicles: binding, vesicle surface polarity, leakage and fusion

 The interaction of dextran sulfate (DS) with dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) large unilamellar vesicles was investigated. DS of different molecular weights (1, 8, 40 and 500 kDa) and divalent cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Mn²⁺) and the trivalent cation La³⁺ were used in the experiments. Binding of DS was studied by use of the microelectrophoresis and monolayer technique. Binding depends strongly on cation and NaCl concentrations in the medium and does not occur in the absence of multivalent cations. Binding is modulated by the molecular weight of the polymers; DS with lower molecular weights lead to less negative zeta potentials at identical concentrations. A comparable monomer of DS, glucose-6-sulfate, does not change the zeta potential of DMPC vesicles. Monolayer experiments revealed a decrease in surface pressure after addition of multivalent cations and DS, indicating a stronger interaction of the cation–polymer complex with the phosphatidylcholine headgroups than its penetration into the phospholipid (PL) bilayer. The cation-mediated binding of DS to the vesicles leads to aggregation of the vesicles. The tendency to promote aggregation of DMPC vesicles is La³⁺>Ca²⁺>Mn²⁺≥ Mg²⁺. The aggregated vesicles show a stacklike arrangement of the bilayers as shown by freeze-fracture electron microscopy. The strong aggregation is accompanied by lipid mixing measured by the 1,4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole–phosphatidylethanolamine (PE)/lissamine rhodamine B sulfonyl-PE assay. At low ionic strength substantial lipid mixing can be observed in the previously mentioned order of the cations. This lipid mixing is accompanied by an increase in the permeability of the vesicles as revealed by the 1-aminonaphthalene-3,6,8-trisulfonic acid/p-xylenebis (pyridiium bromide) assay. The extent of leakage is determined by the cation used and the DS molecular weight. These interaction processes between the opposing bilayers are connected with a decrease in the water content in the gap between the opposing PL bilayers. As a measure for the change of the polar properties of the vesicle surface the shift of the emission wavelength of the fluorescent probe dansylphosphatidylethanolamine was measured. The effectiveness of divalent/trivalent cations to decrease the surface dielectric constant of DMPC vesicles also followed the sequence of ions as found for binding, PL mixing and leakage. The results are discussed in terms of the changed hydration at the bilayer surface induced by DS in the presence of multivalent ions. Received: 16 December 1998/Accepted: 17 December 1999     

Recruitment of receptors at supported lipid bilayers promoted by the multivalent binding of ligand-modified unilamellar vesicles

The development of model systems that mimic biological interactions and allow the control of both receptor and ligand densities, is essential for a better understanding of biomolecular processes, such as the recruitment of receptors at interfaces, at the molecular level. Here we report a model system based on supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) for the investigation of the clustering of receptors at their interface. Biotinylated SLBs, used as cell membrane mimics, were functionalized with streptavidin (SAv), used here as receptor. Subsequently, biotinylated small (SUVs) and giant (GUVs) unilamellar vesicles were bound to the SAv-functionalized SLBs by multivalent interactions and found to induce the recruitment of both SAv on the SLB surface and the biotin moieties in the vesicles. The recruitment of receptors was investigated with quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D), which allowed the identification of the biotin and SAv densities necessary to obtain receptor recruitment. At approx. 0.6% of biotin in the vesicles, a transition between dense and low vesicle packing was observed, which coincided with the transitions between recruitment in the vesicles vs. recruitment in the SLB and between full and partial use of the biotin moieties in the vesicle. Direct optical visualization of the clustering at the interface of individual GUVs with the SLB platform was achieved with fluorescence microscopy, showing recruitment of SAv at the contact area as well as the deformation of the vesicles upon binding. Different vesicle binding regimes were observed for lower and higher biotin densities in the vesicles and at the SLBs. A more quantitative analysis of the molecular parameters implied in the interaction, indicated that approx. 10% of the vesicle area constitutes the contact area. Moreover, the SUV binding and recruitment appeared to be fast on the analysis time scale, whereas the binding of GUVs is slower due to the larger SLB area over which SAv recruitment needs to occur. The mechanisms revealed in this study may provide insight in biological processes in which recruitment occurs.

The development of model systems that mimic biological interactions and allow the control of both receptor and ligand densities, is essential for a molecular understanding of biomolecular processes, such as the recruitment of receptors at interfaces.     

Lipid nanotube formation from streptavidin-membrane binding

A novel transformation of giant lipid vesicles to produce nanotubular structures was observed upon the binding of streptavidin to biotinylated membranes. Unlike membrane budding and tubulation processes caused by proteins involved with endocytosis and vesicle fusion, streptavidin is known to crystallize at near the isoelectric point (pI 5 to 6) into planar sheets against biotinylated films. We have found, however, that at neutral pH membranes of low bending rigidity (<10kT), such as 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), spontaneously produce tubular structures with widths ranging from micrometers to below the diffraction limit (<250 nm) and lengths spanning up to hundreds of micrometers. The nanotubes were typically held taut between surface-bound vesicles suggesting high membrane tension, yet the lipid nanotubes exhibited a fluidic nature that enabled the transport of entrained vesicles. Confocal microscopy confirmed the uniform coating of streptavidin over the vesicles and nanotubes. Giant vesicles composed of lipid membranes of higher bending energy exhibited only aggregation in the presence of streptavidin. Routes toward the development of these highly curved membrane structures are discussed in terms of general protein-membrane interactions.     

LIGHT-INDUCED FORMATION OF O-2˙ OXYGEN RADICALS IN SYSTEMS CONTAINING CHLOROPHYLL

It has been shown recently that photosystem 1 particles, photosystem 1 lipid vesicles and chlorophyll-a lipid vesicles show identical photochemical reactions in the presence of oxygen e.g. H⁺-and O₂-uptake (Van Ginkel, 1979). Therefore, spin-trapping experiments were done to identify the oxygen radicals formed. The spintrap phenyltertiarybutylnitrone (PBN) failed to yield information about oxygen radicals. With the spintrap 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-1-oxide (DMPO), however, we obtained a mixed spectrum of O^-_2˙ and OH·-adducts generated in chloroplasts, photosystem 1 particles or chlorophyll-a lipid vesicles. These data indicate that chlorophyll-a in an artificial membrane can also catalyze O^-_2˙-formation. Chlorophyll-a lipid vesicles catalyze light-induced formation of the Tiron-semiquinone free radical, which has been proposed as a specific O^-_2˙-probe (Greenstock and Miller, 1975). However, OH· scavengers strongly reduce the formation of this radical, whereas superoxide dismutase does not. Pulse-radiolysis measurements showed that the rate constant for the reaction of Tiron with OH· is 8.2 · 10⁹M^-1 s^-1, which is considerably higher than the published Tiron/O^-_2˙ rate constants. Therefore, Tiron is a better spin probe for OH· than for O^-_2˙. We suggest that light-induced H⁺-and O^-_2˙-uptake in membranes containing chlorophyll-a in the presence of ascorbate is caused mainly by the very rapid reaction of OH· with ascorbate.     

Interaction between phospholipid vesicular structures with long chain zwitterionic surfactants

Solubilization of different zwitterionic phospholipid vesicles structures such as L--phosphatidylcholine (PC) and 1,2-didecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPC) have been studied in aqueous bulk by using zwitterionic surfactant dimethylhexadecylammoniopropanesulfonate (HPS). This has been done by studying the aggregation of HPS in pure water and in the presence of 7–36 M of fixed concentrations of each lipid with the help of pyrene fluorescence intensity (I ₁/I ₃) measurements. The fluorescence measurements showed that HPS monomers undergo two kinds of aggregation process, which were identified by the three breaks in a plot of pyrene fluorescence versus HPS concentration. The first two breaks, C ₁ and C ₂, indicate the onset and completion of vesicle solubilization respectively, upon incorporation of HPS monomers into the vesicles and led to solubilization in the form of mixed micelles. This process was not clearly visible at low lipid concentration. We evaluated the partition coefficient (K), which defines the degree of partitioning of surfactant monomers into the vesicles with respect to the aqueous medium. A high K value of HPS-lipid aggregates indicates the stronger interactions between surfactant and lipid vesicles. The K values evaluated for PC and DPC are quite close to each other, which indicates that K values were independent of phospholipid chain length.     

Morphology transformation between nanofibres and vesicles controlled by ultrasound and heat in tryptamine-based assembly

A novel low-molecular-mass organic gelator T1 containing tryptamine and sugar segments was designed and synthesised which can gelate alcohols accelerated by heat and sonication. Interestingly, morphology exchange between vesicles as precipitate and a three-dimensional gel network tuned by heating and ultrasound was observed. The mechanism was studied by IR, FL, X-ray diffraction. It was presented that the effect of ultrasound was to disturb the spontaneous self-assembly of T1 molecule, and promote the long arrangement and disordered assembly of T1 molecules into fibrous networks, thus resulting in the gelation in methanol.     

STABILIZATION OF LIPID BILAYERS ON SURFACES THROUGH CHARGED POLYMERS

ABSTRACT

It is our concept to use a polymer as a hydrophilic cushion to stabilize a lipid bilayer on a solid support. This can be accomplished by using polyacrylamides with disulfides and DMPE anchors as a hydrophilic cushion. These polymers have the additional functionalities to chemisorb on gold surfaces through the disulfides and to bind a lipid bilayer on it through the insertion of the lipid anchors into the lipid bilayer. This paper shows that a polymer with the additional functionality of charged groups increases the attraction of vesicles to form a tethered supported lipid bilayer. By varying the amount of charged groups in the polymer, we are able to control the hydrophilic behavior of the polymer and therefore are able to change the wetting on a surface. This was examined by measuring the contact angles. Using the technique of the surface plasmon spectroscopy, we are able to monitor the process of vesicle fusion on the polymer support.     

Engineering bio-mimicking functional vesicles with multiple compartments for quantifying molecular transport

Controlled design of giant unilamellar vesicles under defined conditions has vast applications in the field of membrane and synthetic biology. Here, we bio-engineer bacterial-membrane mimicking models of controlled size under defined salt conditions over a range of pH. A complex bacterial lipid extract is used for construction of physiologically relevant Gram-negative membrane mimicking vesicles whereas a ternary mixture of charged lipids (DOPG, cardiolipin and lysyl-PG) is used for building Gram-positive bacterial-membrane vesicles. Furthermore, we construct stable multi-compartment biomimicking vesicles using the gel-assisted swelling method. Importantly, we validate the bio-application of the bacterial vesicle models by quantifying diffusion of chemically synthetic amphoteric antibiotics. The transport rate is pH-responsive and depends on the lipid composition, based on which a permeation model is proposed. The permeability properties of antimicrobial peptides reveal pH dependent pore-forming activity in the model vesicles. Finally, we demonstrate the functionality of the vesicles by quantifying the uptake of membrane-impermeable molecules facilitated by embedded pore-forming proteins. We suggest that the bacterial vesicle models developed here can be used to understand fundamental biological processes like the peptide assembly mechanism or bacterial cell division and will have a multitude of applications in the bottom-up assembly of a protocell.

Giant vesicle functional models mimicking a bacterial membrane under physiological conditions are constructed.     

Real-time QCM-D monitoring of electrostatically driven lipid transfer between two lipid bilayer membranes

The lipid exchange/transfer between lipid membranes is important for many biological functions. To learn more about how the dynamics of such processes can be studied, we have investigated the interaction of positively and negatively charged lipid vesicles with supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) of opposite charge. The vesicle-SLB interaction leads initially to adsorption of lipid vesicles on the SLB, as deduced from the mass uptake kinetics and the concerted increase in dissipation, monitored by the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique. Eventually, however, vesicles (and possibly other lipid structures) desorb from the SLB surface, as judged from the mass loss and the dissipation decrease. The mass loss is approximately as large as the initial mass increase; i.e., at the end of the process the mass load is that of a SLB. We interpret this interesting kinetics in terms of initial strong electrostatic attraction between the added vesicles and the SLB, forming a structure where lipid transfer between the two bilayers occurs on a time scale of 10-40 min. We suggest that this lipid transfer causes a charge equilibration with an accompanying weakening of the attraction, and eventually repulsion, between the SLB and vesicles, leading to desorption of vesicles from the SLB. The composition of the latter has thus been modified compared to the initial one, although no net mass increase or decrease has occurred. Direct evidence for the lipid exchange was obtained by sequential experiments with alternating positive and negative vesicles, as well as by using fluorescently labeled lipids and FRAP. The above interpretation was further strengthened by combined QCM-D and optical reflectometry measurements.     

Lipid vesicles in capillary electrophoretic techniques: characterization of structural properties and associated membrane-molecule interactions

This paper reviews the use of lipid vesicles as model membranes in capillary electrophoresis (CE). The history and utility of CE in the characterization of microparticles is summarized, focusing on the application of colloidal electromigration theories to lipid vesicles. For instance, CE experiments have been used to characterize the size, surface properties, enclosed volumes, and electrophoretic mobilities of lipid vesicles and of lipoprotein particles. Several techniques involving small molecules or macromolecules separated in the presence of lipid vesicles are discussed. Interactions between the analytes and the lipid vesicles - acting as a pseudostationary phase or coated stationary phase in electrokinetic chromatography (EKC) - can be used to obtain additional information on the characteristics of the vesicles and analytes, and to study the biophysical properties of membrane-molecule interactions in lipid vesicles and lipoproteins. Different methods of determining binding constants by EKC are reviewed, along with the relevant binding constant calculations and a discussion of the application and limitations of these techniques as they apply to lipid vesicle systems.     

Nitrogen-15 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy as a probe for the study of membrane models

¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy has been used to investigate liposomes from an enriched phospholipid (dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine). It is shown that this probe can yield interesting information on the dynamics of head groups and on some interactions at the lipid–water interface. Even large multilamellar vesicles give rise to narrow, symmetrical signals, with a maximum nuclear Overhauser effect over the phase transition temperature. The sensitivity of the technique as regards structural changes was demonstrated by a complete study made between 20 and 60°C.     

ELECTRON TRANSFER REACTIONS OCCURRING UPON LASER FLASH PHOTOLYSIS OF PHOSPHOLIPID BILAYER SYSTEMS CONTAINING CHLOROPHYLL,BENZOQUINONE AND CYTOCHROME c-II. ELECTRICALLY NEUTRAL AND POSITIVELY-CHARGED VESICLES*

Abstract— The primary and secondary electron transfer reactions which occurred upon laser flash photolysis of electrically neutral and positively-charged lipid bilayer vesicles containing chlorophyll, benzoquinone and cytochrome c were determined by time-resolved difference spectral and kinetic measurements, and compared with previous results obtained with negatively-charged vesicles (Y. Fang and G. Tollin, Photochem. Photobiol. 1988). The extent to which oxidized cytochrome c could function as an electron acceptor from triplet state chlorophyll, and reduced cytochrome c could act as an electron donor to chlorophyll cation radical, decreased from negatively-charged to electrically neutral to positively-charged vesicles, in agreement with expectations based on changes in the ability of cytochrome c to bind to the bilayer. In all three types of vesicles, cytochrome c reduction by benzoquinone anion radical occurred in the aqueous phase.     

Laser temperature jump experiments with fluorescence polarization and turbidity detection on the phase transition of single shell vesicles of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine

The iodine-laser temperature-jump technique has been used to investigate the main phase transition in single shell vesicles of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine. The probe molecules DPH and TMA-DPH were incorporated into the lipid bilayer and laserT-jump experiments with turbidity and flourescence polarization detection were performed. We found three well separated relaxation processes between 5 s and 10 ms. The relaxation signals showed strong cooperativity in the relaxation times as well as in their corresponding amplituedes. We attributed the relaxation to the formation and dissolution of clusters of different order inside the bilayer.     

Nanostructured lipid carriers based suppository for enhanced rectal absorption of ondansetron: In vitro and in vivo evaluations

The current research aimed to fabricate ondansetron nanostructured lipid carriers (OND-NLCs) and incorporate them into a suppository base to manage chemotherapy-induced vomiting and nausea, which offer the advantage of both rapid onset and prolonged release. NLCs were fabricated by adopting the solvent diffusion method. The binary lipid mixture of oleic acid (liquid lipid) and lauric acid (solid lipid) were prepared in distinct ratios. The NLCs were characterized concerning the surface charge, size, drug encapsulation efficiency, and surface morphology. In addition, the influence of surfactant, co-surfactant, and lipid on entrapment efficiency and particle size was investigated. Phosphate buffer having pH 7.4 is used for evaluating in vitro drug release by utilizing a dialysis membrane. Various kinetics models were used to estimate the drug release kinetics of fabricated nanostructured lipid carriers. The particle size of the NLCs was calculated between 101 and 378 nm with negative zeta potential on the NLC’s surface. The entrapment efficiency was found between 68 and 87%. Scanning Electron Microscopic analysis showed the spherical shape of nanostructured lipid carriers. The dissolution profile of the ondansetron-loaded NLC suppository depicts biphasic behavior of firstly burst release then slow release was observed. The diffusion controlled release was evident from kinetic modeling. The succeeding step comprehended the fabrication and characterization of NLC-based suppositories utilizing NLC formulations that demonstrated the combined advantage of rapid onset, prolonged release, and better in vivo bioavailability as compared to control suppository.