The application of surface tension measurements to the study of conformational transitions in aqueous solutions of poly-L-lysine

Surface Tension of Biological Polyelectrolyte Solutions

Surface tensions, gamma, of biological polyelectrolytes in aqueous solutions are studied systematically as possible at the air-water interface by the Wilhelmy method. The polyelectrolytes measured are sodium chondroitin sulfates A (NaCRA) and C (NaCRC), sodium poly-alpha,l-glutamate (NaPGA), poly-l-lysine hydrobromide (PLL . HBr), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), lysozyme (LZ), and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Linear-type macroions such as NaCR, NaPGA, PLL . HBr, and DNA have no surface activity in a wide range of polymer concentrations below the critical polymer concentration, m*, and increases as the concentration increases above m*. Surface activity of the undissociated state of macroions is rather high in general. Globule-like macroions such as LZ and BSA show high surface activity at isoelectric point above m* accompanied with orientation of the molecules along the air-water interface. Separation into the hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts at the interface and balancing in their strength are important for appearance of surface activity. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Adsorption dynamics of L-glutamic acid copolymers at a heptane/water interface

Random copolymers of glutamic acid (glu-ala, glu-leu, glu-phe, glu-tyr) were employed to investigate the relationship between side chain structure and peptide charge on adsorption behavior at an oil/water boundary. Adsorption of a series of glutamate copolymers at a heptane/water interface was examined by the dynamic pendant-drop method to determine interfacial tension. Incorporation of leucine or phenylalanine into a glutamate copolymer results in greater tension reduction than incorporation of alanine or tyrosine. These effects are amplified at pH values near the isoelectric point of glutamate, where macroscopic adsorbed films of glu-leu and glu-phe exhibit gel-like properties in response to interfacial area compression. Differences in interfacial tension behavior of glu-tyr and glu-phe indicate the importance of the tyrosine p-hydroxyl group on adsorption and aggregation at the oil/water interface.

Binding of human normal and multiple sclerosis-derived myelin basic protein to phospholipid vesicles: effects on membrane head group and bilayer regions

The detailed interaction of human myelin basic protein (MBP) with charged lipids may be critical in organizing the myelin sheath into its biologically functional structure. Carbon-13 and phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy has been used to study this interaction by examining spectral consequences of additions of MBP to membrane preparations of the negatively charged lipid phosphatidylglycerol (PG). Lipid head group 13C and 31P linewidths were found to narrow upon addition of protein, while concomitant broadening was noted for bilayer carbon resonances. At intermediate MBP/PG ratios, two components in slow exchange on the NMR time scale (bulk PG and a protein-induced PG domain) were observed for the 13C resonance of the head group carbon atom adjacent to phosphate. These results, and other spectral evidence, suggested that head groups in free PG vesicles are motionally restricted by intermolecular interactions which are disrupted by competition with MBP Lys and Arg positively charged side chains. Titration of PG with the homopolypeptide poly-L-lysine produced comparable effects on PG 13C head group spectra, indicating that electrostatic attractions constitute the primary basis of the observed interactions. Vicinal and/or geminal 13C-31P coupling constants measured from the spectra of PG head group carbons were found to be essentially invariant for free PG in dimethyl sulfoxide solution, free PG vesicles, PG vesicles + MBP, and PG vesicles + poly-L-lysine. Comparison of the spectral effects induced in PG head group resonances by normal vs multiple sclerosis-derived MBP (MS-MBP) indicated that the MS-MBP is relatively less effective in converting PG to the protein-induced domain, a result which was attributed to increased protein self-aggregation arising from the reduced net positive character of the MS protein samples.

The temperature dependence of the surface tension of aqueous solutions of plasma proteins

The surface behavior of aqueous solutions of fibrinogen, transferrin, gamma-globulin and albumin at the liquid-gas interface has been investigated by a modified Wilhelmy technique. The temperature dependence of the surface tension was studied over a temperature range of 20--80 degrees C and a pH range of 2--12. Most pronounced conformational changes of fibrinogen with this technique were found in physiological conditions: 35--45 degrees C and pH 7--8. A conformational change was found for gamma-globulin and transferrin solutions, but at a higher temperature and less pronounced than fibrinogen. Albumin did not undergo conformational transitions to a significant extent.

Detection of lipid phase transitions by surface tensiometry

A technique for the detection of lipid phase transitions is described, which involves measurement of the surface tension as a function of temperature. In the case of insoluble lipids, such as dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) the lipid is spread as a multibilayer film on an aqueous substrate, while in the case of water-soluble lipids such as lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) the surface tension of aqueous sols is measured. Surface tension at the interface, is monitored using a Wilhelmy plate while the temperature is continuously varied. Discontinuities or changes in slope in the surface tension-temperature (gamma-T) curve reflect phase transitions in the lipid. In the case of DPPC, the technique has been used to demonstrate the well-known gel-liquid crystalline thermal transition. This occurs at 36-38 degrees C in the multibilayer films; in bulk DPPC-water dispersions the transition is at 41 degrees. Cholesterol has the effect of lowering the thermal transition and broadening the temperature range. In films containing DPPC-cholesterol at a molar ratio of 2:1 or less, the transition is not present. These results are in agreement with a large number of previous studies of this system. In the case of LPC sols, a phase transition at about 70 degrees was detected when the concentration of SPC was close to the critical micelle concentration (CMC) at 70 degrees. This transition appears to reflect an increase in the equilibrium constant for micelle formation at this temperature. At higher concentrations of LPC a transition at 30 degrees, corresponding to a gel-liquid crystalline transition, was also detected. A complete description of gamma as a function of concentration and temperature in the range 10(-7) to 10(-3) g cm-3 and 20 degrees to 80 degrees has been obtained for LPC sols. The CMC varies from 6 X 10(-6) g cm-3 at 20 degrees to 10(-5) g cm-3 at 80 degrees.

The role of surface thermodynamics in thromboresistance of biomaterials

A thermodynamic approach to the problem of platelet adsorption out of a suspension on to a smooth and homogeneous solid surface is developed. The interfacial tension values required may be estimated from contact angle data by means of an equation of state relation. According to the thermodynamic approach the functional dependence of platelet adsorption on surface tension of the solid differs according to whether the surface tension of the platelets is smaller or larger than the surface tension of the liquid in which they are suspended. The implications of this thermodynamic approach in situations where plasma proteins are present and the biomaterials surfaces may be heterogeneous and rough are discussed. Previous analyses using the critical surface tension of wetting and other surface-related parameters are compared with the thermodynamic analysis given here.