Assembly properties of Triton X-100/phosphatidylcholine aggregates during liposome solubilization

The assembly properties of the nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 and phosphatidylcholine (PC) aggregates during the overall solubilization process of PC liposome were investigated. Permeability alterations were detected as a change in 5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (CF) released from the interior of vesicles and bilayer solubilization as a decrease in the static light scattered by liposome suspensions. A direct dependence was established between the bilayer/aqueous phase surfactant partition coefficients (K), the growth of vesicles and the leakage of entrapped CF in the initial interaction steps (surfactant to phospholipid molar ratioRe up to 0.2). These changes may be related to the increasing presence of surfactant molecules in the outer monolayer of vesicles. In theRe range 0.2–0.35 the coexistence of a low vesicle growth with a constant increase of CF release may be correlated with the decrease inK (increased rate of flip-flop of surfactant molecules). Furthermore, in theRe range between 0.64 and 2.0 (lytic levels) almost a linear dependence was detected between the composition of these aggregates (Re) and the decrease in both the surfactant-PC aggregate size and the static light scattered by the system. This dependence was not observed in the last solubilization steps (Re range 2.0–2.60) possibly due to the increased formation of mixed micelles in this interval. The fact that the free Triton X-100 concentration at sublytic and lytic levels showed respectively lower and similar values than its critical micelle concentration confirms that permeability alterations and solubilization were determined respectively by the action of surfactant monomer and by the formation of mixed micelles.Abbreviations PC phosphatidylcholine - PIPES piperazine-1,4 bis(2-ethanesulphonic acid) - T_X-100 Triton X-100 - CF 5(6)-carboxyflucrescein - Re enective surfactant/lipid molar ratio - Re_SAT effective surfactant/lipid molar ratio for bilayer saturation - Re_SOL enective surfactant/lipid molar ratio for bilayer solubilization - S_W surfanctant concentration in the aqueous medium - S_B surfactant concentration in the bilayers - S_T total surfactant concentration - K bilayer/aqueous phase surfactant partition coefficient - K_SAT bilayer/aqneous phase surfactant partition coefficient for bilayer saturation - K_SOL bilayer/aqueous phase surfactant partition coefficient for bilayer solubilization - PL phospholipid - TLC-FID thinlayer chromatography/flame ionization detection system - PI polydispersity index - CMC critical micellar concentration - r² regression coefficient