Influence of surfactant and lipid chain length on the solubilisation of phosphatidylcholine vesicles by micelles comprised of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monoesters

Photon correlation spectroscopy and freeze-fracture electron microscopy have been used to determine the ability of a range of micelle-forming, polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monoesters (Tweens) to solubilise vesicles prepared from phosphatidylcholines of different acyl chain lengths and degrees of saturation with a view to rationalising (in terms of their membrane toxicity) which of the micelle-forming surfactants to use as drug delivery vehicles. The phosphatidylcholines used were dimyristoyl-, dipalmitoyl-, distearoyl- and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC, DPPC, DSPC and DOPC, respectively) while the nonionic polyoxyethylene sorbitan monoesters studied were polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monolaurate (Tween 20), a 9:1 weight ratio mixture of polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monopalmitate and monostearate (Tween 40), a 1:1 weight ratio mixture of polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monopalmitate and monostearate (Tween 60), and polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate (Tween 80). The ability of the Tween micelles to solubilise phospholipid vesicles was found to depend both upon the length of the surfactant acyl chain and the length of the acyl chains of the phospholipid comprising the vesicle. Vesicles composed of long saturated diacyl chain phospholipids, namely DSPC and DPPC, were the most resistant to solubilisation, while those prepared from the shorter acyl chained DMPC were more readily solubilised. In terms of their solubilisation behaviour, vesicles made from phospholipids containing long, unsaturated acyl chains, namely DOPC behaved more akin to those vesicles prepared from DMPC. None of the Tween surfactants were effective at solubilising vesicles prepared from DPPC or DSPC. In contrast, there were clear differences in the ability of the various surfactants to solubilise vesicles prepared from DMPC and DOPC, in that micelles formed from Tween 20 were the most effective solubilising agent while those formed by Tween 60 were the least effective. As a consequence of these observations it was considered that Tween 60 was the surfactant least likely to cause membrane damage in vivo and, therefore, is the most suitable surfactant for use as a micellar drug delivery vehicle.     

Polymeric Catalysts

The present-day position in the field of polymeric catalysts is outlined. The following selected groups of polymeric catalysts are discussed: synthetic hydrolases, immobilized enzymes, phase-transfer catalysts, nucleophilically active bases, polymers with conjugated π-systems, photosensitizers, polymers as carriers for catalytically active metals or ions, and immobilized homogeneous catalysts. Polymeric catalysts have the following valuable properties: insoluble polymeric catalysts are readily separable from reaction solutions and can often be re-used without loss of activity; a hydrophobic matrix protects the organometallic active center from deactivation by oxygen and water; by fixation of finely divided metals on an ion exchanger, multistage reactions may be effected successively in one reactor. Polymeric carriers may influence the catalytic properties; for example, in the case of immobilized enzymes on polyionic carriers the pH of the activity maximum may be shifted.     

Theragnostic Applications of Mammal and Plant-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: Latest Findings,Current Technologies,and Prospects

The way cells communicate is not fully understood. However, it is well-known that extracellular vesicles (EVs) are involved. Researchers initially thought that EVs were used by cells to remove cellular waste. It is now clear that EVs function as signaling molecules released by cells to communicate with one another, carrying a cargo representing the mother cell. Furthermore, these EVs can be found in all biological fluids, making them the perfect non-invasive diagnostic tool, as their cargo causes functional changes in the cells upon receiving, unlike synthetic drug carriers. EVs last longer in circulation and instigate minor immune responses, making them the perfect drug carrier. This review sheds light on the latest development in EVs isolation, characterization and, application as therapeutic cargo, novel drug loading techniques, and diagnostic tools. We also address the advancement in plant-derived EVs, their characteristics, and applications; since plant-derived EVs only recently gained focus, we listed the latest findings. Although there is much more to learn about, EV is a wide field of research; what scientists have discovered so far is fascinating. This paper is suitable for those new to the field seeking to understand EVs and those already familiar with it but wanting to review the latest findings.     

Optimal Conditions for Existence of Vesicles Under Electric Field

Giant vesicles have been of intense interest as the model system for cell membranes. To bring numerous applications of the vesicles into full play, the existence time of the vesicles becomes particularly important. In this work, we explored the existence time of the vesicles in distilled water under four kinds of representative alternative current (AC) electric fields with different energizing time. When the application time of AC electric field reached 1 hour, the existence time of the vesicles reached the maximum value. As the applied electric field time increased, the existence time of the vesicles decreased. Thus, after obtaining the best vesicles on the carbon fiber electrode, disconnecting the external electric field is very necessary. Based on the in situ observation using inverted microscope, the disappearing phenomena of the vesicles were presented. In addition, it is found that vesicles in phosphate buffer solutions (PBSs) can last about 2–3 days when the electric field was applied for 1 hour, which was much longer than that in distilled water.     

Anion-controlled geometrically different Cu(II) ion-based coordination polymers and green synthetic route for copper nanoparticles: a combined experimental and computational insight

Abstract

The Cu(II) ion-based polymeric complexes [Cu(2,2′-bpy).(N₃)₂]_n (I), [Cu₂(2,2′-bpy)₂.(N₃)₄]_n (II), and monomeric complex [Cu(2,2′-bpy).(NO₃)₂].5H₂O (III) have been synthesized with rigid (–N₃) and aromatic (2,2′-bpy = 2,2′-bipyridyl) ligand. The rigid azide group is responsible for the formation of 1-D extended structures in complexes I and II where as in the case of complex III, a monomeric complex is formed due to lack of a bridging group like –N₃, resulting in limitation in dimensionality. The thermal stability of the 1-D complexes is comparatively higher than monomeric complex III. Hirshfeld surface analysis has also been applied to investigate other weak interactions and compared with the results from single-crystal X-ray data. Due to the presence of paramagnetic metal centers and long metal···metal distances in complexes I and II and presence of lattice water molecules in complex III, decrease in luminescence intensities have been observed. To attain further insights into the aforementioned interesting species, some chemical concepts such as highest occupied molecular orbital–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gap, electronic chemical potential, chemical hardness, and electrophilicity index, identified as a derivative of electronic energy, have also been emphasized employing the quantum chemical calculations in the framework of the density functional theory method using the M06-2X/ 6-31G** level of study. Further, these complexes have been used to synthesize copper nanoparticles by applying a green synthetic route.     

Theory of myelin coiling

A new model is proposed to explain coiling of myelins composed of fluid bilayers. This model allows the constituent bilayer cylinders of a myelin to be non-coaxial and the bilayer lateral tension to vary from bilayer to bilayer. The calculations show that a myelin would bend or coil to lower its free energy when the bilayer lateral tension is sufficiently large. From a mechanical point of view, the proposed coiling mechanism is analogous to the classical Euler buckling of a thin elastic rod under axial compression. The analysis of a simple two-bilayer case suggests that a bilayer lateral tension of about 1 dyne/cm can easily induce coiling of myelins of typical lipid bilayers. This model signifies the importance of bilayer lateral tension in determining the morphology of myelinic structures.     

On the interpretation of fluorescence anisotropy decays from probe molecules in lipid vesicle systems

Measurements of fluorescence depolarization decays are widely used to obtain information about the molecular order and rotational dynamics of fluorescent probe molecules in membrane systems. This information is obtained by least-squares fits of the experimental data to the predictions of physical models for motion. Here we present a critical review of the ways and means of the data analysis and address the question how and why totally different models such as Brownian rotational diffusion and wobble-in-cone provide such convincing fits to the fluorescence anistropy decay curves. We show that while these models are useful for investigating the general trends in the behavior of the probe molecules, they fail to describe the underlying motional processes. We propose to remedy this situation with a model in which the probe molecules undergo fast, though restricted local motions within a slowly rotating cage in the lipid bilayer structure. The cage may be envisaged as a free volume cavity between the lipid molecules, so that its position and orientation change with the internal conformational motions of the lipid chains. This approach may be considered to be a synthesis of the wobble-in-cone and Brownian rotational diffusion models. Importantly, this compound motion model appears to provide a consistent picture of fluorescent probe behavior in both oriented lipid bilayers and lipid vesicle systems.     

聚合物及其混合物的太赫兹介电性质测定与分析方法

聚合物材料因其对太赫兹波的高透过率以及良好的塑形能力在太赫兹研究中扮演了重要的角色,由于材料的介电特性直接关系着折射率、极化率等重要性质,不同的应用场合通常需要材料呈现出特殊的太赫兹介电响应,一方面可以选取不同的聚合物材料,另一方面可以通过多种聚合物的混合实现材料介电性质的调制。聚合物材料合理的选取和设计建立在材料太赫兹介电精确表征之上,然而利用太赫兹时域光谱系统(THz-TDS)对聚合物材料进行透射式太赫兹介电表征时,材料内部空气孔隙的存在会影响表征结果的复现性,同时也会影响共混聚合物介电性质的分析和预测。因此以Landau, Lifshitz, Looyenga(LLL)模型为基础提出了考虑空气影响的介电分析模型,并选取了在太赫兹研究中广泛使用的聚合物材料聚乙烯(PE)和聚四氟乙烯(PTFE)对模型的有效性和稳定性加以验证,展开了两种材料单质和混合物两方面的介电分析。在太赫兹波透射样品之后的相位变化信息中提取出样品的介电常数,同一种物质制备的样片间太赫兹介电谱存在明显差异,使用包含气隙影响的LLL模型处理实验数据后,样品介电常数中空气的介电影响被移除,从而得到了两种材料的本征介电常数,在此基础上,使用测得的本征介电常数和混合物样品中两种材料的体积占比信息代入包含气隙影响的LLL模型计算得到了不同配比混合物的太赫兹介电常数的模拟值,并与THz-TDS实验获取的实验值进行了对比。利用所提出的有效介质模型,聚乙烯和聚四氟乙烯在10～40 cm-1波段内移除空气影响后的平均介电常数为2.315±0.003（±0.13%）和2.109±0.003（±0.14%）,在不同重量、不同厚度的单组份样品间模型测定的聚合物介电常数保持了良好的重复性,在对混合物的太赫兹介电性质测定与分析中,利用模型计算的混合物介电常数模拟值与THz-TDS测定的介电常数实验值保持了高度线性相关,其相关系数为0.964 3,全局相对误差为1.08%,体现了模型的可靠性。提出的介电分析模型可以扩展到更多的高分子材料单质及其混合物的太赫兹介电性质表征中,对太赫兹波段的共混聚合物材料设计具有参考价值。     

Assessment of different fixation protocols on the presence of membrane-bound vesicles in Caco-2 cells: A multidimensional view by means of correlative light and 3-D transmission electron microscopy

Herein, we present a comparative analysis of a variety of chemical and physical fixation protocols for the specific visualisation of the membrane-bound vesicles (MBVs) in the Caco-2 colorectal cancer (CRC) cell line. In so doing, we validated the applicability of specific specimen preparation protocols for the preservation and contrasting of membrane-associated vesicles. Next, by employing the best respective chemical (GOT) and physical (SHPF) fixation methods for the application of transmission electron tomography and modelling we were able to characterise MBVs in three-dimensions and at the nanometer scale. In the second part of this study, we employ a correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM) approach in order to determine which vesicular compartments are implicated in the uptake of FITC-BSA as a model protein drug. In so doing, we provide a solid foundation for future studies investigating chemotherapeutic drug uptake, transport and fate in cancer cell lines.     

Adhesion of binary giant vesicles containing negative spontaneous curvature lipids induced by phase separation

We report the adhesion of binary giant vesicles composed of two types of phospholipids, one has negative spontaneous curvature which tends to bend toward the head group and the other has zero spontaneous curvature. In a homogeneous one-phase region, the giant vesicles do not adhere to each other, whereas in a coexisting two-phase region, the giant vesicles show adhesion. A fluorescence microscope observation reveals that the adhesion takes place through the domains rich in phospholipids having negative spontaneous curvature. We propose a phase separation induced hemifusion model where two apposed monolayers of adjacent vesicles are hemifused in order to reduce the bending energy of monolayers with negative spontaneous curvature and the boundary energy between the domains and matrix. We provide a strong evidence for the hemifusion model by lipid transfer experiments.