Interaction of cholesterol, cerebronic acid, valinomycin, and related compounds in monolayers of binary mixtures

Interactions of poly(tert-butyl acrylate)-poly(styrene) diblock copolymers with lipids at the air-water interface

Diblock copolymers with hydrophilic poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PtBA) and hydrophobic poly(styrene) (PS) blocks were synthesized with a view to use them as a surfactant in tear film for increasing the ocular comfort in dry eye syndrome. Interactions of six PtBA-PS copolymers with four important lipids found in the tear film, namely cholesterol, cholesteryl palmitate, dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylinositol, were studied at the air-water interface using a Langmuir trough. Thermodynamics of mixing of the copolymers and the lipids in the mixed monolayers was determined by calculating excess free energy of mixing. The diblock copolymers showed repulsive interactions with cholesteol and cholesteryl palmitate, near neutral interactions with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, and attractive interactions with phosphatidylinositol. The lipids interacted with the PS component of the copolymer. The results indicate that a copolymer with a small hydrophilic group and a big hydrophobic group can be a likely candidate for forming stable interactions with the lipids present in the tear film and hence increase the ocular comfort.

Cerebroside Langmuir monolayers originated from the echinoderms: II. Binary systems of cerebrosides and steroids

Two-component Langmuir monolayers formed on a subphase of 0.5M sodium chloride solution were investigated for two different cerebrosides (LMC-1 and LMC-2) with steroids of cholesterol (Ch) and cholesteryl sodium sulfate (Ch-S); i.e. LMC-1/Ch, LMC-1/Ch-S, LMC-2/Ch, and LMC-2/Ch-S were examined in terms of surface pressure (pi), the surface potential (DeltaV) and the dipole moment (mu( perpendicular)) as a function of surface area (A) by employing the Langmuir method, the ionizing electrode method, and the fluorescence microscopy. Surface potentials (DeltaV) of steroids were analyzed using the three-layer model proposed by Demchak and Fort. The miscibility of cerebrosides and steroids in the insoluble monolayers was examined by plotting the variation of the molecular area and the surface potential as a function of the steroid molar fraction (X(steroid)) based upon the additivity rule. From the A-X(steroid) and DeltaV(m)-X(steroid) plots, partial molecular surface area (PMA) and apparent partial molecular surface potential (APSP) were determined at the different surface pressures. The PMA and APSP with the mole fraction were discussed for the miscible system. Judging from the two-dimensional phase diagrams, they can be classified into two types. The first is a completely immiscible type; the combination of cerebrosides with cholesterol. The second is a negative azeotropic type, where cerebrosides and cholesteryl sodium sulfate are completely miscible both in the expanded state and in the condensed state. In addition, a regular surface mixture (the Joos equation for the analysis of the collapse pressure of two-component monolayers) allowed calculation of the interaction parameter (xi) and the interaction energy (-Delta epsilon) between the cerebrosides and Ch-S. The miscibility of cerebroside and steroid components in the monolayer state was also supported by fluorescence microscopy.

The surface pressure dynamics and appearance of mixed monolayers of cholesterol and different sized polystyrenes at an air-water interface

Synthetic polymers are increasingly being used in situations where they are designed to interact with biological systems. As a result, it is important to investigate the interactions of the polymers with biochemicals. We have used cholesterol, as an example of an important biological surfactant component, to study its interactions with polystyrene. Mixed monolayers of cholesterol and one of two different molecular weight polystyrenes were formed at an air-water interface to investigate their interactions and to determine whether the size of the polystyrene affected the interaction. The pressure-area (pi-A) isocycles of mixed monolayers of cholesterol and polystyrene MW 2700 or polystyrene MW32700 showed that strongest attractive interactions occur at high surface pressures and in polystyrene rich films. The excess area and excess free energy of mixing were most negative at high surface pressures and at high mole fraction of polystyrene. The most stable mixed monolayers were formed with X(PS2700) = 0.9 and X(PS32700) = 0.09. Microscopic observation of the mixed monolayers of cholesterol and polystyrene showed the formation of stable islands in the cholesterol/polystyrene mixtures. These observations, the nature of the inflection points in the isocycles, and the anomalous changes in free energy lead us to conclude that there is a stable rearrangement of polystyrene into compact islands when it is mixed with cholesterol. Any excess cholesterol is excluded from these islands and remains as a separate film surrounding the islands.