Aggregation and Layering Transitions in Thin Films of X-, T-, and Anchor-Shaped Bolaamphiphiles at the Air-Water Interface

Reorganization of the outer layer of a model of the plasma membrane induced by a neuroprotective aminosterol

Trodusquemine is an amphipathic aminosterol that has recently shown therapeutic benefit in neurodegenerative diseases altering the binding of misfolded proteins to the cell membrane. To unravel the underlying mechanism, we studied the interactions between Trodusquemine (TRO) and lipid monolayers simulating the outer layer of the plasma membrane. We selected two different compositions of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC), sphingomyelin (SM), cholesterol (Chol) and monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (GM1) lipid mixture mimicking either a lipid-raft containing membrane (L_d+S_o phases) or a single-phase disordered membrane (L_d phase). Surface pressure-area isotherms and surface compressional modulus-area combined with Brewster Angle Microscopy (BAM) provided the thermodynamic and morphological information on the lipid monolayer in the presence of increasing amounts of TRO in the monolayer. Experiments revealed that TRO forms stable spreading monolayers at the buffer-air interface where it undergoes multiple reversible phase transitions to bi- and tri-layers at the interface. When TRO was spread at the interface with the lipid mixtures, we found that it distributes in the lipid monolayer for both the selected lipid compositions, but a maximum TRO uptake in the rafts-containing monolayer was observed for a Lipid/TRO molar ratio equal to 3:2. Statistical analysis of BAM images revealed that TRO induces a decrease in the size of the condensed domains, an increase in their number and in the thickness mismatch between the L_d and S_o phase. Experiments and MD simulations converge to indicate that TRO adsorbs preferentially at the border of the S_o domains. Removal of GM1 from the lipid L_d+S_o mixture resulted in an even greater TRO-mediated reduction of the size of the S_o domains suggesting that the presence of GM1 hinders the localization of TRO at the S_o domains boundaries. Taken together these observations suggest that Trodusquemine influences the organization of lipid rafts within the neuronal membrane in a dose-dependent manner whereas it evenly distributes in disordered expanded phases of the membrane model.

Molecularly Designed Interfacial Viscoelasticity by Dendronized Polymers: From Flexible Macromolecules to Colloidal Objects

The thermodynamic and rheological properties of densely packed dendronized polymers (DPs) at water-air interfaces were studied here for first- and fourth-generation DPs (PG1, PG4) with both small (P_n ≈ 50) and large (P_n ≈ 500) backbone degrees of polymerization. The excellent control over the structural characteristics of these polymers enabled us to investigate how the interfacial properties change as we go from thin, flexible macromolecules toward thicker molecular objects that display colloidal features. The effects of the dendron generation, affecting the persistence length, as well as the degree of polymerization and surface pressure on the formation of DP layers at the water-air interface were studied. Surface pressure measurements and interfacial rheology suggest the existence of significant attractive interactions between the molecules of the higher generation DPs. While all DPs featured reproducible Π-A diagrams, successive compression-expansion cycles and surface pressure relaxation experiments revealed differences in the stability of the formed films, which are consistent with the variations in shape persistence and interactions between the studied DPs. Atomic force microscopy after Langmuir-Blodgett transfer of the films displayed a nanostructuring that can be attributed to the increase in attractive forces with increasing polymer generation and anisotropy. The importance of such structures on the surface properties was probed by interfacial shear rheology, which validated the existence of strong albeit brittle structures for fourth-generation DPs. Ultimately, we demonstrate how in particular rod-like DPs can be used as robust foam stabilizers.

From two-dimensional to three-dimensional at the air/water interface: the self-aggregation of the acridine dye in mixed monolayers

The formation of well-defined supramolecular structures on the nanoscopic scale is a fundamental step in nanotechnology. The fine control of the layer-by-layer growth of the supramolecular assemblies at interfaces is most desirable. The collapse of a mixed monolayer composed of two surfactants in an equimolar ratio (the organic dye N-10-dodecyl acridine (DAO) and stearic acid (SA)) is analyzed herein. The collapse process of the DAO/SA mixed monolayer has been monitored using surface pressure-molecular area (π-A) and surface potential isotherms, UV-visible reflection spectroscopy, polarization-modulated infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS), Brewster angle microscopy (BAM), and synchrotron-based in situ X-ray reflectivity (XRR) measurements. The collapse of the DAO/SA mixed monolayer leads to an ordered trilayer. The growth of anisotropic 2D domains of micrometric size is observed during the formation of the trilayer, related to the ordering of the acridine polar headgroups. The trilayer is organized with the first and third monolayers displaying the polar headgroups pointing to the aqueous subphase, whereas the intermediate layer displays the polar headgroups pointing to the air. The trilayer is stabilized by the strong self-aggregation acridine dye group of the DAO molecule. The controlled transition from a monolayer to a trilayer described herein is proposed as a model for further interfacial supramolecular structures of tunable thickness comprising organic dyes.

Organization of T-shaped facial amphiphiles at the air/water interface studied by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy

We studied the behavior of monolayers at the air/water interface of T-shaped facial amphiphiles which show liquid-crystalline mesophases in the bulk. The compounds are composed of a rigid p-terphenyl core (TP) with two terminal hydrophobic ether linked alkyl chains of equal length and one facial hydrophilic tri(ethylene oxide) chain with a carboxylic acid end group. Due to their amphiphilic nature they form stable Langmuir films at the air/water interface. Depending on the alkyl chain length they show markedly different compression isotherms. We used infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) to study the changes in molecular organization of the TP films upon compression. We could retrieve information on layer thickness, alkyl chain crystallization, and the orientation of the TP cores within the films. Films of TPs with long (16 carbon atoms: TP 16/3) and short (10 carbon atoms: TP 10/3) alkyl chains were compared. Compression of TP 16/3 leads to crystallization of the terminal alkyl chains, whereas the alkyl chains of TP 10/3 stay fluid over the complete compression range. TP 10/3 shows an extended plateau in the compression isotherm which is due to a layering transition. The mechanism of this layering transition is discussed. Special attention was paid to the question of whether a so-called roll-over collapse occurs during compression. From the beginning to the end of the plateau, the layer thickness is increased from 15 to 38 Å and the orientation of the TP cores changes from parallel to the water surface to isotropic. We conclude that the plateau in the compression isotherm reflects the transition of a TP monolayer to a TP multilayer. The monolayer consists of a sublayer of well-organized TP cores underneath a sublayer of fluid alkyl chains whereas the multilayer consists of a well oriented bottom layer and a disordered top layer. Our findings do not support the model of a roll-over collapse. This study demonstrates how the IRRA band intensity of OH or OD stretching vibrations can be used to retrieve information about layer thickness and refractive indices of the film and how multicomponent IRRA bands can be fitted to retrieve information about the orientation of molecules within the monolayer.