Thermodynamic characterization of the prevailing molecular interactions in mixed floating monolayers of phospholipids and usnic acid

The investigation of the characteristics of mixed floating monolayers of phospholipids and usnic acid (UA), an active metabolite from lichens, can provide valuable information on how to prepare stable liposomes that could serve as carriers of UA for therapeutic proposes. The present paper is concerned with the thermodynamic analysis of the behavior of Langmuir monolayers formed by mixing different phospholipids (dibehenoylphosphatidylcholine, DBPC, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, DPPC, and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine, DOPC) and UA at varied molar fractions. Relevant thermodynamic parameters such as excess areas, excess free energies and free energy of mixing were derived from the surface pressure data obtained from compression measurements performed in a Langmuir trough. For the largest lateral pressure examined (25 mN/m), negative values of the excess free energy were found only for the DOPC/UA monolayer, which should be the most stable of them. Based on the calculated values of the free energy of mixing, we note that the DBPC/UA and DPPC/UA systems present the best mixed character at low pressures and when the molar fraction of the UA is 0.5; at that relative concentration and at low values of the external pressure, the UA molecules can better mix and interact with the phospholipid molecules. The compression isotherms for mixed monolayers show no visible transitions, exhibiting a more organized phase that corresponds to a negative free energy of mixing. We have established that the most stable monolayers were those corresponding to DOPC/UA mixtures with a UA molar fraction of 0.75.