Properties of phosphatidylcholine in the presence of its monofluorinated analogue

Design of Lipid-Based Nanocarriers via Cation Modulation of Ethanol-Interdigitated Lipid Membranes

Short-chain alcohols (i.e., ethanol) can induce membrane interdigitation in saturated-chain phosphatidylcholines (PCs). In this process, alcohol molecules intercalate between phosphate heads, increasing lateral separation and favoring hydrophobic interactions between opposing acyl chains, which interpenetrate forming an interdigitated phase. Unraveling mechanisms underlying the interactions between ethanol and model lipid membranes has implications for cell biology, biochemistry, and for the formulation of lipid-based nanocarriers. However, investigations of ethanol-lipid membrane systems have been carried out in deionized water, which limits their applicability. Here, using a combination of small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering, small-angle neutron scattering, and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we analyzed the effect of varying CaCl₂ and NaCl concentrations on ethanol-induced interdigitation. We observed that while ethanol addition leads to the interdigitation of bulk phase 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) bilayers in the presence of CaCl₂ and NaCl regardless of the salt concentration, the ethanol-induced interdigitation of vesicular DPPC depends on the choice of cation and its concentration. These findings unravel a key role for cations in the ethanol-induced interdigitation of lipid membranes in either bulk phase or vesicular form.

Refining internal bilayer structure of bicelles resolved by extended-q small angle X-ray scattering

The internal profile across the bilayer reveals important structural information regarding the crystallinity of acyl chains or the positions of encapsulated species. Here, we demonstrate that a simple five-layer-core-shell discoidal model can be employed to best fit the extended-q small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data and resolve the bilayer internal structure (with sub-nanometer resolution) of a nanoscale discoidal system comprised of a mixture of long- and short- chain lipids (known as "bicelles"). In contrast to the traditional core-shell discoidal model, the detailed structure in the hydrophobic core such as the methylene and methyl groups can be distinguished via this model. The refined model is validated by the SAXS data of bicelles whose electron scattering length density of the hydrophobic core is adjusted by the addition of a long-chain lipid with a fluorine-end group. The higher resolution of the bilayer internal structure can be employed to advance our understanding of the interaction and conformation of the membrane and associated molecules, such as membrane-associated proteins and locations of entrapped species in the lipid nanoparticles.

Monolayer behavior of pure F-DPPC and mixed films with DPPC studied by epifluorescence microscopy and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy

The monolayer behavior of a l-DPPC derivative with a single fluorination in one of its terminal methyl groups (F-DPPC) at air-water interface was investigated by epifluorescence microscopy and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS). Epifluorescence microscopy was utilized to study the shape and morphology of liquid-condensed (LC) domains observed upon compression of the film. IRRAS was employed for the determination of chain order and orientation. The shapes of LC-domains in a monolayer of F-DPPC are more dependent on the rate of compression than those of DPPC. The LC domains of F-DPPC display pronounced fractal growth patterns depending on the compression speed. The evolution of LC domain occurs under dominating electrostatic dipolar forces in F-DPPC. IRRAS measurements with the analysis of the frequency of the methylene stretching vibrations as a function of film compression show that the acyl chains in an F-DPPC monolayer in the LE-phase are more disordered than those in a DPPC film. The reason for the higher chain disorder in LE phase F-DPPC monolayers is a back folding of the fluorinated sn-2 chain terminus towards the air-water interface leading to larger molecular area requirement. Angular dependent IRRA spectra of monolayers at a surface pressure of 30 mN m^-1 show that in the LC phase DPPC and F-DPPC exhibit a similar tilt of the acyl chains of ca. 28-30 ° relative to the surface normal. F-DPPC is ideally miscible with l-DPPC-d₆₂ having the same chirality, as indicated by epifluorescence images and by IRRAS. However, the LC domains in an equimolar mixture of d-DPPC and F-DPPC having opposite chirality show multi-lobed complex domain patterns indicating chiral phase separation within LC domains.

Progress in the synthesis of fluorinated phosphatidylcholines for biological applications

Fluorinated phospholipids have attracted a lot of interest over the past 40 years. While mono- and polyfluorinated analogs are mostly designed to be used as ¹⁹F NMR probes, highly fluorinated phospholipids are mainly developed as drug delivery devices and oxygen carriers. This review describes their synthetic pathways, their properties and potential applications.

Effect of Perfluoroalkyl Endgroups on the Interactions of Tri-Block Copolymers with Monofluorinated F-DPPC Monolayers

We studied the interaction of amphiphilic and triphilic polymers with monolayers prepared from F-DPPC (1-palmitoyl-2-(16-fluoropalmitoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine), a phospholipid with a single fluorine atom at the terminus of the sn-2 chain, an analogue of dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC). The amphiphilic block copolymers contained a hydrophobic poly(propylene oxide) block flanked by hydrophilic poly(glycerol monomethacrylate) blocks (GP). F-GP was derived from GP by capping both termini with perfluoro-n-nonyl segments. We first studied the adsorption of GP and F-GP to lipid monolayers of F-DPPC. F-GP was inserted into the monolayer up to a surface pressure Π of 42.4 mN m⁻¹, much higher than GP (32.5 mN m⁻¹). We then studied isotherms of lipid-polymer mixtures co-spread at the air-water interface. With increasing polymer content in the mixture a continuous shift of the onset of the liquid-expanded (LE) to liquid-condensed (LC) transition towards higher molecular and higher area per lipid molecule was observed. F-GP had a larger effect than GP indicating that it needed more space. At a Π-value of 32 mN m⁻¹, GP was excluded from the mixed monolayer, whereas F-GP stayed in F-DPPC monolayers up to 42 mN m⁻¹. F-GP is thus more stably anchored in the monolayer up to higher surface pressures. Images of mixed monolayers were acquired using different fluorescent probes and showed the presence of perfluorinated segments of F-GP at LE-LC domain boundaries.

Evaluation of the effect of fluorination on the property of monofluorinated dimyristoylphosphatidylcholines

The synthesis and characterization of three monofluorinated dimyristoylphosphatidylcholines, with the fluorine atom located at the extremities of the acyl chain in position 2 of the glycerol (sn-2), is described.

Colocalization of the ganglioside G(M1) and cholesterol detected by secondary ion mass spectrometry

The characterization of the lateral organization of components in biological membranes and the evolution of this arrangement in response to external triggers remain a major challenge. The concept of lipid rafts is widely invoked; however, direct evidence of the existence of these ephemeral entities remains elusive. We report here the use of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to image the cholesterol-dependent cohesive phase separation of the ganglioside GM1 into nano- and microscale assemblies in a canonical lipid raft composition of lipids. This assembly of domains was interrogated in a model membrane system composed of palmitoyl sphingomyelin (PSM), cholesterol, and an unsaturated lipid (dioleoylphosphatidylcholine, DOPC). Orthogonal isotopic labeling of every lipid bilayer component and monofluorination of GM1 allowed generation of molecule specific images using a NanoSIMS. Simultaneous detection of six different ion species in SIMS, including secondary electrons, was used to generate ion ratio images whose signal intensity values could be correlated to composition through the use of calibration curves from standard samples. Images of this system provide the first direct, molecule specific, visual evidence for the colocalization of cholesterol and GM1 in supported lipid bilayers and further indicate the presence of three compositionally distinct phases: (1) the interdomain region; (2) micrometer-scale domains (d > 3 μm); (3) nanometer-scale domains (d = 100 nm to 1 μm) localized within the micrometer-scale domains and the interdomain region. PSM-rich, nanometer-scale domains prefer to partition within the more ordered, cholesterol-rich/DOPC-poor/GM1-rich micrometer-scale phase, while GM1-rich, nanometer-scale domains prefer to partition within the surrounding, disordered, cholesterol-poor/PSM-rich/DOPC-rich interdomain phase.

Effects of cholesterol on phospholipid membranes: inhibition of the interdigitated gel phase of F-DPPC and F-DPPC/DPPC

Unlike the parent phospholipid, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), the monofluorinated analog, 1-palmitoyl-2-(16-fluoropalmitoyl)sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (F-DPPC), spontaneously forms an interdigitated gel phase (L(β)I) below the main transition temperature (T(m)). We have examined the effects of introducing cholesterol to F-DPPC and 1:1 F-DPPC/DPPC membranes using a combination of DSC, optical density, fluorescence intensity and polarization, (31)P NMR, and X-ray diffraction techniques. Cholesterol increases the fluidity of the gel phase, broadens the main transition, and decreases the main transition enthalpy. However, these results also reveal that there is an unusually large degree of phase coexistence between the L(β)I and non-interdigitated gel phases when cholesterol is added. Cholesterol encourages this phase segregation by partitioning into the thicker non-interdigitated domains. At higher cholesterol concentrations, the majority or all of the L(β)I phase of F-DPPC and 1:1 F-DPPC/DPPC is eliminated and is replaced by a non-interdigitated liquid-ordered (l(o)) phase with properties similar to DPPC/cholesterol. Consequently, cholesterol mitigates the influence the CF moiety has on the thermodynamic phase behavior of F-DPPC. Our findings demonstrate that there are multiple characteristics of cholesterol-rich membranes that disfavor interdigitation.

Effects of pentanol isomers on the phase behavior of phospholipid bilayer membranes

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to analyze the thermotropic phase behavior of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers in the presence of pentanol isomers. The concentration of each pentanol isomer needed to induce the interdigitated phase was determined by the appearance of a biphasic effect in the main transition temperatures, the onset of a hysteresis associated with the main transition from the gel-to-liquid crystalline phase, and the disappearance of the pretransition. Lower threshold concentrations were found to correlate with isomers of greater alkyl chain length while branching of the alkyl chain was found to increase biphasic behavior. The addition of a methyl group to butanol systems drastically decreased threshold concentrations. However, as demonstrated in the DPPC/neopentanol system, branching of the alkyl chain away from the -OH group lowers the threshold concentration while maintaining a biphasic effect.