A monolayer study on phase behavior and morphology of binary mixtures of sulfatides with DPPC and DPPE

The impact of fluoxetine and pH values on relaxation of the ternary lipid monolayers

Fluoxetine (FLX), used in the clinic to treat depression, is a well-known cationic amphiphilic antidepressant. To get a deeper insight into the effect of FLX on Langmuir monolayers, in this study the stability and relaxation of 1,2-dioctadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phophocholine/1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine/cholesterol (DSPC/POPC/CHOL) monolayers without and with FLX at different pH values were studied. The experiments involved surface pressure-area (π-A) measurements, mean molecular area-time (A-t) measurements, and atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis. It was found that intermolecular interactions decreased after the addition of FLX in the subphase but increased with increasing pH values. The relaxation of the ternary lipid monolayers with FLX was dominated by dissolution steps, and the dissolution rates decreased with increasing pH values. These findings can be easily confirmed by the analysis of thermodynamic parameters calculated for the investigated films. The data obtained in this study help to understand the effect of drugs on the ternary lipid monolayers from the molecular point of view.

Study of the Mechanism of the Antimicrobial Activity of Novel Water Soluble Ammonium Quaternary Benzanthrone on Model Membranes

The increasing resistance of many pathogens to most of the common antimicrobials requires the development of new substances with more effective antimicrobial properties. In the present work, we investigated the mechanism of the antimicrobial activity of novel water soluble ammonium quaternary benzanthrone (Compound B) on model membranes, composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine, dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylglycerol, and dipalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE). The lipids were chosen to represent a model of a bacterial membrane. The changes in surface pressure of the model membranes, before and after the addition of Compound B, were studied by the Langmuir's monolayer method, and the compressional modulus for each monolayer was determined. In addition, the surface morphology of the lipid monolayers before and after injection of Compound B was monitored by Brewster Angle Microscopy. The results showed that Compound B penetrated all the monolayers studied. The most noticeable effects were found with the negatively charged phosphatidylglycerols and with DPPE leading to the conclusion that the electrostatic interactions between the compound and the lipid head groups and the possible formation of hydrogen bonds between the amino group of the ethanolamine and the keto groups in the structure of Compound B are of great importance. In addition, the penetration ability of the benzoquinone with all phospholipids studied was stable even at higher values of the surface pressure, i.e. thicker monolayers, due to the hydrophobic interaction, which plays also an important role for the antimicrobial activity of Compound B.

Emerging investigator series: exploring the surface properties of aqueous aerosols coated with mixed surfactants

Mixed Langmuir monolayers of cholesterol with both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, stearic acid (SA), and oleic acid (OA) spread at the air-seawater surface were studied. The phase behavior, molecular interaction, and conformational order of the monolayers were investigated by surface pressure-area (π-A) isotherms and infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) measurements. The thermodynamic parameters of the mixed films, including excess molecular area and excess Gibbs free energy were calculated by using the isotherm data. The interaction between SA (or OA) and cholesterol varied with the molar fraction of the fatty acids and surface pressure. OA/chol monolayers showed the characteristics of miscibility, but they acted as nonideal systems. Cholesterol has been observed to have a stabilizing effect on OA monolayers. The negative values of the excess Gibbs free energy in the entire composition range demonstrated that mixed OA/chol monolayers were thermodynamically stable. IRRAS spectra showed that mixing with cholesterol changes the ordering of fatty acid monolayers at the air-seawater surface. The findings provide general information regarding the structural changes in the monolayer induced by lateral packing. These results help in the understanding of the mixing behavior of fatty acids and cholesterol and provide insights into the fate of the mixed-monolayer-coated sea salt aerosol in the ocean environment.

Thermodynamic Characterization of Mixed Monolayers of a Novel Oxazolidine Derivative and Phospholipids

Oxazolidine derivatives (OxD) are five ring-membered compounds that contain at least one oxygen and nitrogen in their molecular structure. OxD are known due to several therapeutic activities such as anticancer and antibiotic properties. In this paper, we performed a thermodynamic analysis of the mixed films composed by dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG), dipalmitoylphosphoethanolamine (DPPE), dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) or L-α phosphatidylcholine (PC) with a novel oxazolidine derivate (OxD). Relevant thermodynamic parameters such as excess areas (ΔAE), excess free energies (ΔG), and Gibbs free energy of mixing (AG^mix) were derived from the surface pressure data. The topographical analysis was performed using atomic force microscopy. Based on the calculated values of the thermodynamic parameters, we observed that the miscibility of the mixed films was directly dependent on their composition. DPPG/OxD and DPPE/OxD systems present the best-mixed character at low pressures at OxD molar fraction equivalent to 0.25.