Anisotropy and lifetime profiles for n-anthroyloxy fatty acids: a fluorescence method for the detection of bilayer interdigitation

Water gradient in the membrane-water interface: a time-resolved study of the series of n-(9-anthroyloxy) stearic acids incorporated in AOT/water/iso-octane reverse micelles

The water radial distribution in AOT/iso-octane/water reverse micelles (RM), used to mimic the membrane-water interface, was examined by excited-state lifetime and transient spectral measurements of the series of n-(9-anthroyloxy) stearic acids (n-AS), with n = 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 12. A water gradient in the RM extended from the polar head group region up to the middle of the surfactant carbon chains. A fast intramolecular excited-state relaxation, involving the rotation of the carboxylic group of the ester bond with respect to the anthracene ring, gave rise to a nanosecond time-dependent fluorescence Stokes shifts (TDFSS). In water-filled RMs, we only observed a water-induced TDFSS occurring over subnano- and nanosecond time scales with decreasing amplitudes and rates as a function of depth, according to the decreasing water gradient and the slowing down of the anthroyloxy moiety rotational motion. This water-induced TDFSS is most likely the result of both H-bond formation and general dipolar relaxation, as indirectly showed by measurements with DMF (a nonprotic polar solvent) instead of water in RMs.

The effect of membrane fluidity on FRET parameters: an energy transfer study inside small unilamellar vesicle

The fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) in a lipid bilayer system containing two different donors and one common acceptor at below and above transition temperature has been studied and all the FRET parameters are analyzed using steady state and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Using dynamic light scattering measurement, we have followed the process of preparation of small unilamellar vesicles, and by following the FRET parameters of C-153-Rh6G and C-151-Rh6G pairs inside SUVs at 16 °C and 33 °C (T(m) = 23.9 °C) we have noticed that there is greater effect of temperature on the FRET parameters in case of the C-153-Rh6G pair than that of the C-151-Rh6G pair. Finally we have concluded that this difference is due to their different location inside the lipid bilayer in which fluidity of the long alkyl chain markedly affects the FRET parameters for C-153-Rh6G pair embedded inside a small unilamellar vesicle of size 20-50 nm.

Numerical studies of the membrane fluorescent dyes dynamics in ground and excited states

Fluorescence methods are widely used in studies of biological and model membranes. The dynamics of membrane fluorescent markers in their ground and excited electronic states and correlations with their molecular surrounding within the fully hydrated phospholipid bilayer are still not well understood. In the present work, Quantum Mechanical (QM) calculations and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations are used to characterize location and interactions of two membrane polarity probes (Prodan; 6-propionyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene and its derivative Laurdan; 2-dimethylamino-6-lauroylnaphthalene) with the dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) lipid bilayer model. MD simulations with fluorophores in ground and excited states are found to be a useful tool to analyze the fluorescent dye dynamics and their immediate vicinity. The results of QM calculations and MD simulations are in excellent agreement with available experimental data. The calculation shows that the two amphiphilic dyes initially placed in bulk water diffuse within 10 ns towards their final location in the lipid bilayer. Analysis of solvent relaxation process in the aqueous phase occurs on the picoseconds timescale whereas it takes nanoseconds at the lipid/water interface. Four different relaxation time constants, corresponding to different relaxation processes, where observed when the dyes were embedded into the membrane.

Solvent relaxation in phospholipid bilayers: principles and recent applications

Although there exist a number of methods, such as NMR, X-ray, e.g., which explore the hydration of phospholipid bilayers, the solvent relaxation (SR) method has the advantage of simple instrumentation, easy data treatment and possibility of measuring fully hydrated samples. The main information gained from SR by the analysis of recorded "time-resolved emission spectra" (TRES) is micro-viscosity and micro-polarity of the dye microenvironment. Based on these parameters, one can draw conclusions about water structure in the bilayer. In this review, we focus on physical background of this method, on all the procedures that are needed in order to obtain relevant parameters, and on the requirements on the fluorescence dyes. Furthermore, a few recent applications (the effect of curvature, binding of antibacterial peptides and phase transition) illustrating the versatility of this method are mentioned. Moreover, limitations and potential problems are discussed.

Influence of the curvature on the water structure in the headgroup region of phospholipid bilayer studied by the solvent relaxation technique

Solvent relaxation (SR) in 1,2-dioleoyl-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) unilamellar vesicles of different size was probed by 6-hexadecanoyl-2-(((2-(trimethylammonium)ethyl)methyl)amino)naphthalene chloride (Patman), 6-propionyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene (Prodan) and 4-[(n-dodecylthio)methyl]-7-(N,N-dimethylamino)-coumarin (DTMAC). Patman probes the amount and mobility of the bound water molecules located at the carbonyl region of the bilayer. Membrane curvature significantly accelerates the solvent relaxation process, but does not influence the total Stokes shift, showing that membrane curvature increases the mobility, without affecting the amount of water molecules present in the headgroup region. This pattern was also verified for other phosphatidylcholines. Prodan is located in the phosphate region of the bilayer and probes a more polar, mobile and heterogeneous environment than Patman. The influence of membrane curvature on SR probed by Prodan is similar, however, less pronounced compared to Patman. DTMAC (first time used in SR) shows a broad distribution of locations along the z-axis. A substantial amount of the coumarin chromophores face bulk water. No effect of curvature on SR probed by DTMAC is detectable.

Influence of ester and ether linkage in phospholipids on the environment and dynamics of the membrane interface: a wavelength-selective fluorescence approach

We have monitored the environment and dynamics of the membrane interface formed by the ester-linked phospholipid 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and the ether-linked phospholipid 1,2-dihexadecyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DHPC) utilizing the wavelength-selective fluorescence approach and using the fluorescent membrane probe 2-(9-anthroyloxy)stearic acid (2-AS). This interfacially localized probe offers a number of advantages over those which lack a fixed location in the membrane. When incorporated in membranes formed by DPPC and DHPC, 2-AS exhibits red edge excitation shift (REES) of 14 and 8 nm, respectively. This implies that the rate of solvent reorientation, as sensed by the interfacial anthroyloxy probe, in ester-linked DPPC membranes is slow compared to the rate of solvent reorientation in ether-linked DHPC membranes. In addition, the fluorescence polarization values of 2-AS are found to be higher in DHPC membranes than in DPPC membranes. This is further supported by wavelength-dependent changes in fluorescence polarization and lifetime. Taken together, these results are useful in understanding the role of interfacial chemistry on membrane physical properties.

Probing Ethanol-Induced Phospholipid Phase Transitions by the Polarity Sensitive Fluorescence Probes Prodan and Patman

The emission behaviour of the two polarity sensitive probes Prodan and Patman in phospholipid vesicles was studied as a function of the concentration of ethanol. Comparing the spectral shifts in both the symmetric lipid 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) showing a phase transition from a normal to a fully interdigitated gel phase and the strongly asymmetric lipid 1-stearoyl-2-lauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (C(18):C(12)-PC) favouring a mixed interdigitated gel phase we show that the huge red shifts of Prodan in presence of higher ethanol concentrations cannot be easily attributed to a specific lipid phase transition. Rather, probe relocation and a pronounced increase in solvent relaxation (SR) as monitored by time-resolved emission spectra (TRES) in presence of ethanol contribute to the large shifts observable in both lipid systems in case of Prodan. While Patman exhibits a red shift caused by increased SR due to the ethanol induced formation of a fully interdigitated phase in DPPC, hardly any shift occurs in C(18):C(12)-PC, which is supposed not to undergo an ethanol-induced phase transition.