1H-NMR of phosphatidylcholine liposomes at low p2H in the presence of a paramagnetic shift reagent

Studying lipid flip-flop in asymmetric liposomes using 1H NMR and TR-SANS

The specific spatial and temporal distribution of lipids in membranes play a crucial role in determining the biochemical and biophysical properties of the system. In nature, the asymmetric distribution of lipids is a dynamic process with ATP-dependent lipid transporters maintaining asymmetry, and passive transbilayer diffusion, that is, flip-flop, counteracting it. In this chapter, two probe-free techniques, 1H NMR and time-resolved small angle neutron scattering, are described in detail as methods of investigating lipid flip-flop rates in synthetic liposomes that have been generated with an asymmetric bilayer composition.

Holmium Complex with Phospholipids as 1H NMR Relaxational Sensor of Temperature and Viscosity

The sensitivity of Ho-phospholipid complexes to changes in the membrane viscosity of liposomes was checked. An increase in viscosity was observed for DPPC and DMPC near the phase-transition temperature. Ho-phospholipid complexes could be used as sensors of local membrane viscosity in NMR and MRI technologies.

Holmium complex with phospholipids as 1H NMR temperature probe for membrane systems

The temperature dependence of the lanthanide-induced chemical shifts (LISs) was studied for the systems containing 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine (POPC)-Ho, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC)-Ho and 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (DMPC)-Ho in unilamellar liposomes. In the POPC-Ho system, anti-Curie dependence of LISs is observed, same as previously observed in POPC-Pr system. In the DPPC- and DMPC-Ho systems, temperature features are observed which are probably connected with phase transition.

Complex of praseodymium with lipid as a NMR temperature sensor and probe of liposome states

The goal of the research was to show the limits within which Pr³⁺ can be used as a linear response probe.

Stabilization of egg phosphatidylcholine liposomes by the insertion of sulfatide

The characteristic effects of sulfatide and its derivatives on the stability of small unilamellar vesicles of egg phosphatidylcholine liposomes in phosphate-buffered saline were investigated by measuring the leakage of carboxyfluorescein that had been entrapped in these vesicles. We found that both the sulfate group and a long acyl chain, such as lignoceric acid, of the sulfatide are essential for the stabilization. The sulfatide derivatives that contain a somewhat shorter acyl chain such as stearic acid had no effect to suppress the leakage of carboxyfluorescein. The galactose residue of sulfatide is not essential to suppress the leakage. 1H-NMR study using a paramagnetic shift reagent demonstrated that the distribution of phosphatidylcholine in the vesicles containing sulfatide is homogeneous, which seems to contribute to the stability of the membrane.

Interfacial pH modulation of membrane protein function in vivo. Effect of anionic phospholipids

In yeast cells, the magnitude of the membrane surface potential (phi) is determined to a large extent by the relative amount of anionic phospholipids (Cerbón and Calderón (1990) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1028, 261-267). When a significant surface potential exists, the pH at the membrane surface (interfacial pH) will be different to that in the bulk suspending medium. We now report that: (1) In cells with higher phi (phosphatidylinositol-rich cells (PI-rich) and phosphatidylserine-rich cells (PS-rich) a 10-times lower proton concentration in the bulk was enough to achieve the maximum transport activity of H(+)-linked transport systems when compared to normal cells. (2) When the phi was reduced by increasing the concentration of cations in the medium, more protons were required to achieve maximum transport, that is, the pH activity curves shifted downwards to a more acidic pH. (3) The magnitude of the downward pH shift was around 2.5-times higher for the more charged membranes. (4) Around 10-times more KCl than MgCl2 was necessary to give an equivalent pH shift, in agreement with their capacity to reduce the phi of artificial bilayers. The interfacial pH calculated from the values of phi indicates that it was 0.4 pH units lower in the anionic phospholipid rich cells as compared to normal cells. The results indicate that membrane surface potential may explain the complex relationship between pH, ionic strength and membrane protein function. Maximum transport activities were found for glutamate at interfacial pH of 4.2-4.8 and were inhibited at interfacial pH = 3.2-3.4, suggesting that surface groups of the carrier proteins with pK values in the region 3.8-4.2 (aspartyl and glutamyl) are involved in binding and/or release of charged substrates.

Monopolar-bipolar lipid interactions in model membrane systems

1H-NMR, dynamic light scattering and negative staining electron microscopy have been used to study the formation and physico-chemical properties of aqueous dispersions of mixtures of monopolar lipids extracted from Sulfolobus solfataricus. This microorganism is a thermophilic archaeobacterium growing optimally at about 85 degrees C and pH 3. The two hydrolytic fractions of the membrane complex lipids that have been studied are: the symmetric lipid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) and the asymmetric lipid glycerol dialkyl nonitol tetraether (GDNT). Electron micrographs of pure and mixed GDNT and GDGT dispersions show the formation of complex structures. Only above a critical monopolar/bipolar lipid ratio, typical of the bipolar lipid, could closed structures be formed and good agreement was obtained in sizing with NMR, electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. NMR spectra have been carried out at several temperatures from 25 degrees to 85 degrees C, to obtain information on the temperature-dependent structural, dynamic and permeability properties of the co-dispersed vesicles. The results are discussed in terms of the steric constraints and the chemico-physical interactions occurring among the different parts of the molecules and compared with previous studies performed with different physical techniques.