Vesicles as rheology modifier

Spontaneous Formation of Stable Vesicles and Vesicle Gels in Polar Organic Solvents

The self-assembly of lipids into nanoscale vesicles (liposomes) is routinely accomplished in water. However, reports of similar vesicles in polar organic solvents like glycerol, formamide, and ethylene glycol (EG) are scarce. Here, we demonstrate the formation of nanoscale vesicles in glycerol, formamide, and EG using the common phospholipid lecithin (derived from soy). The samples we study are simple binary mixtures of lecithin and the solvent, with no additional cosurfactants or salt. Lecithin dissolves readily in the solvents and spontaneously gives rise to viscous fluids at low lipid concentrations (∼2-4%), with structures ∼200 nm detected by dynamic light scattering. At higher concentrations (>10%), lecithin forms clear gels that are strongly birefringent at rest. Dynamic rheology confirms the elastic response of gels, with their elastic modulus being ∼20 Pa at ∼10% lipid. Images from cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) indicate that concentrated samples are "vesicle gels," where multilamellar vesicles (MLVs, also called "onions"), with diameters between 50 and 600 nm, are close-packed across the sample volume. This structure can explain both the elastic rheology as well as the static birefringence of the samples. The discovery of vesicles and vesicle gels in polar solvents widens the scope of systems that can be created by self-assembly. Interestingly, it is much easier to form vesicles in polar solvents than in water, and the former are stable indefinitely, whereas the latter tend to aggregate or coalesce over time. The stability is attributed to refractive index-matching between lipid bilayers and the solvents, i.e., these vesicles are relatively "invisible" and thus experience only weak attractions. The ability to use lipids (which are "green" or eco-friendly molecules derived from renewable natural sources) to thicken and form gels in polar solvents could also prove useful in a variety of areas, including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and lubricants.

Dual-Prevention for UV-Induced Skin Damage: Incorporation of Melatonin-Loaded Elastic Niosomes into Octyl Methoxycinnamate Pickering Emulsions

Incorporation of antioxidants into sunscreens is a logical approach, yet co-delivery of them with UV filters is a challenge. Here, we purposed a combination therapy, in which the chemical UV filter, octyl methoxycinnamate, was accumulated on upper skin while the antioxidant, melatonin, can penetrate deeper layers to show its effects. Melatonin-loaded elastic niosomes and octyl methoxycinnamate Pickering emulsion were prepared separately. Lyophilized elastic niosomes were dispersed into the Pickering emulsion to prepare the proposed combination formulation. The characterization studies of the formulations revealed that elastic niosomes can be prepared with tunable nanometer sizes, whereas Pickering emulsions can encapsulate the UV filter in micrometer-sized droplets. Melatonin-loaded elastic niosomes prepared with Tween80/Span80 mixture were 146 nm with a PI of 0.438, and 58.42% entrapment efficiency was achieved. The mean diameter size of the combination formulation was 27.8 μm. Ex vivo permeation studies revealed that 7.40% of octyl methoxycinnamate and 58% of melatonin were permeated through the rat skin while 27.6% octyl methoxycinnamate and 37% of melatonin accumulated in the skin after 24 h. Cell culture studies with real-time cell analyzer showed that the proposed formulation consist of melatonin-loaded elastic niosomes and octyl methoxycinnamate Pickering emulsion had no negative effect on the cell proliferation and viability. According to α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging method, the proposed formulation showed as high antioxidant activity as melatonin itself. It is concluded that the proposed formulation would be a promising dual therapy for UV-induced skin damage with co-delivery strategy.

Simulating Bilayers of Nonionic Surfactants with the GROMOS-Compatible 2016H66 Force Field

Polyoxyethylene glycol alkyl ether amphiphiles (C_iE_j) are important nonionic surfactants, often used for biophysical and membrane protein studies. In this work, we extensively test the GROMOS-compatible 2016H66 force field in molecular dynamics simulations involving the lamellar phase of a series of C_iE_j surfactants, namely C₁₂E₂, C₁₂E₃, C₁₂E₄, C₁₂E₅, and C₁₄E₄. The simulations reproduce qualitatively well the monitored structural properties and their experimental trends along the surfactant series, although some discrepancies remain, in particular in terms of the area per surfactant, the equilibrium phase of C₁₂E₅, and the order parameters of C₁₂E₃, C₁₂E₄, and C₁₂E₅. The polar head of the C_iE_j surfactants is highly hydrated, almost like a single polyethyleneoxide (PEO) molecule at full hydration, resulting in very compact conformations. Within the bilayer, all C_iE_j surfactants flip-flop spontaneously within tens of nanoseconds. Water-permeation is facilitated, and the bending rigidity is 4 to 5 times lower than that of typical phospholipid bilayers. In line with another recent theoretical study, the simulations show that the lamellar phase of C_iE_j contains large hydrophilic pores. These pores should be abundant in order to reproduce the comparatively low NMR order parameters. We show that their contour length is directly correlated to the order parameters, and we estimate that they should occupy approximately 7-10% of the total membrane area. Due to their highly dynamic nature (rapid flip-flops, high water permeability, observed pore formation), C_iE_j surfactant bilayers are found to represent surprisingly challenging systems in terms of modeling. Given this difficulty, the results presented here show that the 2016H66 parameters, optimized independently considering pure-liquid as well as polar and nonpolar solvation properties of small organic molecules, represent a good starting point for simulating these systems.

Vesicles and Vesicle Gels – Structure and Solubilisation Properties

Vesicles are self-aggregating systems that exhibit a rich structural variety and are able to encapsulate active molecules. Once their effective volume fraction exceeds a certain value the formation of vesicle gels will occur. The details of the vesicular structure and also the rheological properties of vesicle gels are controlled to a large extent by the molecular composition of the amphiphilic system. Some particular examples of such vesicle gels are discussed in this article which were characterised by phase studies, measurements of their rheological behaviour, and comprehensive scattering experiments in order to obtain a detailed structural picture which can be correlated with the macroscopic properties.

A coarse-grained MARTINI model of polyethylene glycol and of polyoxyethylene alkyl ether surfactants

Nonionic surfactants are used for the isolation and purification of membrane proteins, as well as for the study of fundamental aspects of protein diffusion in membranes. Here we present a new coarse-grained model of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and of the family of polyoxyethylene alkyl ether (C(i)E(j)) surfactants. The model is compatible with the MARTINI coarse-grained force-field for lipids and proteins. We validate the model by comparing molecular dynamics simulations with experimental data. In particular, we show that the model reproduces the phase behavior of water-surfactant mixtures as a function of water concentration. We also simulate the self-assembly of two ternary mixtures that have been used for the experimental measure of protein diffusion coefficients. The first includes a cosurfactant that affects the curvature of the surfactant bilayers; the second is a mixture of C(i)E(j) surfactants, alkanes and water. In both cases, the results of self-assembly simulations are in agreement with experimental observations and pave the way to the use of the surfactant model in combination with MARTINI peptides and proteins.

The use of highly ordered vesicle gels as template for the formation of silica gels

A spontaneously forming gel of unilamellar vesicles based on sodium oleate (Na oleate) and 1-octanol as amphiphiles has been employed as a template in the formation of a silica gel formed by the hydrolysis of the inorganic precursor tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). Up to about 10 wt % TEOS can be incorporated into this vesicle gel without phase separation and in a fully homogeneous formation process by simple mixing of the components. The process itself relies solely upon the self-organizing properties of this amphiphilic template system. The formation process was followed by means of time-resolved turbidity, rheology, and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments. It can be concluded that the presence of the precursor TEOS affects the kinetics of the process but the original vesicle gel structure is retained even up to highest TEOS content. The kinetic studies confirm that under the chosen conditions the vesicle formation proceeds much faster than the hydrolysis of TEOS and the subsequent formation of the silica gel. SANS displays in the low q-range an additional scattering due to the silica gel network, i.e., a hybrid material of an amphiphilic vesicle gel and an inorganic oxide gel is formed. Thus, this method is a very facile novel route of forming a highly ordered silica/vesicle gel by employing a self-organizing amphiphilic system as template and the formation of the silica network proceeds in a fully homogeneous fashion under kinetic control.

Characterization and encapsulation efficiency of rhamnolipid vesicles with cholesterol addition

The effect of cholesterol on the vesicle formation of a rhamnolipid biosurfactant extracted from the liquid culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa SP4 was investigated. The rhamnolipid vesicles were prepared in a phosphate-buffer saline (PBS) solution (pH 7.4) at a biosurfactant concentration of 2.6mM, or 6.5 times the critical micelle concentration (CMC), with various amounts of cholesterol. The biosurfactant solution was characterized using turbidity, zeta potential, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. The morphology of the rhamnolipid vesicles formed at different cholesterol concentrations was examined with the use of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that the rhamnolipid biosurfactant formed spherical vesicles both in the absence and presence of cholesterol, but the incorporation of the cholesterol into the bilayer membrane reduced the vesicle size. Sudan III, a water-insoluble dye, was used as a model hydrophobic compound in the encapsulation experiment. The encapsulation efficiency (E%) of the rhamnolipid vesicles was affected by the cholesterol concentration and the initial Sudan III concentration. The maximum E% of nearly 90% was achieved at the cholesterol concentration of 100μM and the initial Sudan III concentration of 8.8μM.

Thermodynamics and kinetics of vesicles formation processes

Vesicles are hollow aggregates, composed of bilayers of amphiphilic molecules, dispersed into and filled with a liquid solvent. These aggregates can be formed either as equilibrium or as out of equilibrium meta-stable structures and they exhibit a rich variety of different morphologies. The surprising richness of structures, the vast range of industrial applications and the presence of vesicles in a number of biological systems have attracted the interest of numerous researchers and scientists. In this article, we review both the thermodynamics and the kinetics aspects of the phenomena of formation of vesicles. We start presenting the thermodynamics of bilayer membranes formation and deformation, with the aim of deriving the conditions for the existence of equilibrium vesicles. Specifically, we use the results from continuum thermodynamics to discuss the possibility of formation of stable equilibrium vesicles, from both mixed amphiphiles and single component systems. We also link the bilayer membrane properties to the molecular structure of the starting amphiphiles. In the second part of this article, we focus on the dynamics and kinetics of vesiculation. We review the process of vesicles formation both from planar lamellar phase under shear and from isotropic micelles. In order to clarify the physical mechanisms of vesicles formation, we continuously draw a parallel between emulsification and vesiculation processes. Specifically, we compare the experimental results, the driving forces and the relative scaling laws identified for the two processes. Describing the dynamics of vesicles formation, we also discuss why non equilibrium vesicles can be formed by kinetics control and why they are meta-stable. Understanding how to control the properties, the stability and the formation process of vesicles is of fundamental importance for a vast number of industrial applications.

Dilution technique to determine the hydrodynamic volume fraction of a vesicle suspension

A simple dilution method to determine the hydrodynamic volume fraction of vesicle suspensions is presented. The vesicle suspension is diluted with a solution containing a tracer Y, which is similar to a component X already present in the suspending fluid and which does not bind to or permeate through the vesicles. The concentrations of X and Y in the suspending fluid measured after dilution are used to determine the volume fraction. Using this technique, the volume fractions of vesicle suspensions comprising cationic vesicles prepared in solutions of CaCl(2) (X) were measured by dilution with MgCl(2) (Y) solutions. Various experimental parameters such as the concentration of the MgCl(2) diluents and the dilution volume ratio were studied and their effects optimized to arrive at a robust recipe for measuring the volume fraction. It is demonstrated that the technique can be applied to concentrated suspensions containing multilamellar and polydisperse vesicles.

Control of phase behavior and properties of vesicle gels by admixing ionic surfactants to the nonionic surfactant Brij 30

The effect of the addition of two cationic surfactants of different chain length (decyl and dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide, DeTMABr and DTMABr, respectively) and one anionic surfactant of identical chain length (sodium dodecyl sulfate, SDS) on phase behavior, structure, and macroscopic properties of a bilayer forming nonionic surfactant (Brij 30) has been investigated by means of phase studies, rheology, turbidity measurements, dynamic light scattering, and freeze-fracture transmission electron microscopy. We concentrated on DTMABr because of the generically similar behavior for the other ionic surfactants. It is found that already very small amounts of added ionic surfactant have a very pronounced effect on the phase behavior of these systems. The pure nonionic surfactant forms bilayers and has a tendency for the formation of vesicles which becomes enhanced by charging the bilayer through the incorporation of the ionic surfactant. The presence of the ionic surfactant leads to much more viscous systems, which already at a total surfactant concentration of 150 mM become gel-like. For a given surfactant concentration, the elastic properties of the gels increase largely upon the addition of ionic surfactant. This effect is strongly synergistic, requiring only very small amounts of added ionic surfactant, and the elastic properties pass through a maximum for a content of ionic surfactant of about 3-5 mol %. This behavior can be explained in a self-consistent way by a simple rheological model and by combining it with light scattering data. For the addition of larger amounts, the elastic properties decrease again and the formed vesicles become structurally less defined as one is leaving the range of conditions for forming well-defined vesicles, which are required for forming elastic vesicle gels.