Solubilization kinetics of phospholipid vesicles by sodium taurocholate

The solubilization kinetics of phospholipid vesicles, about 100 nm in diameter and composed of egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC) and EPC/cholesterol in molar ratio 7/3, by sodium taurocholate (TC) used as a model bile salt were investigated by monitoring the turbidity at 500 nm and by quasielastic light scattering (QELS). The solubilization process was found to be dependent on the rate of TC addition. Although the solubilization profiles were identical whatever the rate of TC addition, an increase in the amount of TC needed to solubilize phosphatidylcholine liposomes was observed at higher rates. These results suggest that at low TC concentrations the permeability of the membrane to taurocholate is the rate-limiting step of the solubilization. In the case of cholesterol-containing vesicles, the effect of the rate of addition of TC was observed only at the solubilization characteristic points, called B and C, corresponding to a sharp decrease in the turbidity. This suggests that cholesterol greatly reduces the permeability of the membrane. In addition, the kinetic process was found to be independent of the micellar concentration of the detergent added to the aqueous medium, indicating that the solubilization of liposomes by TC was independent of the initial state of aggregation of the detergent. The calculated values of lipid/TC aggregates and of the partition coefficient show that the kinetic effect observed at high TC concentrations prior to complete solubilization might also be due to the diffusion of the detergent into the membranes. This gives rise to the differences in composition of the aggregates as a consequence of the variation in the rate of TC addition. In addition, QELS scattered intensity variations confirm the presence of a kinetic process for the solubilization of liposomes by TC. In conclusion, our results suggest that solubilization of lipid vesicles by TC is governed by kinetic parameters that might be controlled by liposome membrane permeability at low TC concentrations and by the lateral diffusion of the detergent into aggregates at higher TC concentrations.