A model for the electrostatic contribution to the pH-dependent nonideal mixing of a binary charged–zwitterionic lipid bilayer

Three-Phase Coexistence in Binary Charged Lipid Membranes in a Hypotonic Solution

We investigated the phase separation of dioleoylphosphatidylserine (DOPS) and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) in giant unilamellar vesicles in a hypotonic solution using fluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Although phase separation in charged lipid membranes is generally suppressed by the electrostatic repulsion between the charged headgroups, osmotic stress can promote the formation of charged lipid domains. Interestingly, we observed a three-phase coexistence even in the DOPS/DPPC binary lipid mixtures. The three phases were DPPC-rich, dissociated DOPS-rich, and nondissociated DOPS-rich phases. The two forms of DOPS were found to coexist owing to the ionization of the DOPS headgroup, such that the system could be regarded as quasi-ternary. The three formed phases with differently ionized DOPS domains were successfully identified experimentally by monitoring the adsorption of positively charged particles. In addition, coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations confirmed the stability of the three-phase coexistence. Attraction mediated by hydrogen bonding between protonated DOPS molecules and reduction of the electrostatic interactions at the domain boundaries stabilized the three-phase coexistence.

Phase diagram of mixed monolayers of stearic acid and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine. Effect of the acid ionization

The aim of this work is to study the phase diagram of mixed monolayers composed of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and stearic acid (SA) at different ionic strength and bulk pH of the aqueous subphase. In this way, the effect of ionization of SA on the interaction and thus on phase separation with the DMPC matrix can be analyzed. To this purpose, we first determined the ionization state of pure SA monolayers as a function of the bulk subphase pH. The SA monolayers are nearly fully ionized at pH 10 and essentially neutral at pH 4 and the mixture of DMPC and SA was studied at those two pHs. We found that the DMPC-enriched phase admits more SA if the SA monolayer is in a liquid-expanded state, which is highly related to the acid ionization state, and thus to the bulk pH and ionic strength. At pH 4 the molecules hardly mix while at pH 10 the mixed monolayer with DMPC can admit between 30 and 100% of SA (depending on the lateral pressure) before phase separation is established. The addition of calcium ions to the subphase has a condensing effect on SA monolayers at all pHs and the solubility of SA in the DMPC matrix does not depend on the bulk pH in these conditions. The observed phase diagrams are independent on the manner in which the state of the mixed film is reached and may thus be considered states of apparent equilibrium.

Ionization properties of mixed lipid membranes: a Gouy-Chapman model of the electrostatic-hydrogen bond switch

The dissociation state of phosphatidic acid (PA) in a lipid bilayer is governed by the competition of proton binding and formation of a hydrogen bond through a mechanism termed the electrostatic-hydrogen bond switch. This mechanism has been suggested to provide the basis for the specific recognition of PA by proteins. Even in bare lipid bilayers the electrostatic-hydrogen bond switch is present if the membrane contains lipids like phosphatidylethanolamine that act as hydrogen bond donors. In this case, the dissociation state (pK(a)) of PA depends strongly on membrane composition. In the present work we incorporate the electrostatic-hydrogen bond switch mechanism into the Gouy-Chapman model for a membrane that is composed of PA and a hydrogen bond-donating zwitterionic lipid. To this end, our model integrates into the Gouy-Chapman approach a recently suggested electrostatic model for zwitterionic lipids. Hydrogen bond formation is incorporated phenomenologically as an additional non-electrostatic interaction between the phosphomonoester headgroup of PA and the zwitterionic lipid headgroup. We express the energetics of the composite membrane in terms of a free energy functional whose minimization leads to a modified non-linear Poisson-Boltzmann equation that we have solved numerically. Our calculations focus on the influence of the membrane environment on the dissociation state of PA. This influence can be expressed as a shift of the second pK(a) of PA, which we calculate as function of membrane composition, following experimental observation. The shift is large and negative if PA is the minor component in the membrane, and it changes over four pH units as function of the mole fraction of PA in the membrane. In contrast, the shift of the second pK(a) of PA remains small and is always positive if the zwitterionic lipid is unable to act as hydrogen bond donor. Hence, we find that the electrostatic-hydrogen bond switch mechanism regulates the dissociation state of PA with much greater sensitivity than would be possible based on a pure electrostatic regulation through the membrane potential.