Confocal Raman Microscopy for in Situ Measurement of Phospholipid-Water Partitioning into Model Phospholipid Bilayers within Individual Chromatographic Particles

Kinetic Mechanism of Surfactant-Based Molecular Recognition: Selective Permeability across an Oil-Water Interface Regulated by Supramolecular Aggregates

Lipids are known to play a vital role in the molecular organization of all cellular life. Molecular recognition is another fundamental biological process that is generally attributed to biological polymers, such as proteins and nucleic acids. However, there is evidence that aggregates of lipids and lipid-like molecules are also capable of selectively binding to or regulating the partitioning of other molecules. We previously demonstrated that a model two-phase octanol/water system can selectively partition Red 40 and Blue 1 dyes added to an aqueous phase, with the selectivity depending on the surfactant (e.g., cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) dissolved in the organic phase. Here, we elucidate the mechanism of molecular recognition in this system by using quantitative partitioning experiments and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Our results indicate that the selectivity for the red dye is thermodynamically favored at all surfactant concentrations, while selectivity for the blue dye is kinetically favored at high surfactant concentrations. The kinetic selectivity for the blue dye correlates with the presence of molecular aggregation at the oil-water interface. Coarse-grained MD simulations elucidate nanoscale supramolecular structures that can preferentially bind one small molecule rather than another at an interface, providing a selectively permeable barrier in the absence of proteins. The results suggest a new supramolecular mechanism for molecular recognition with potential applications in drug delivery, drug discovery, and biosensing.

Exploring the role of octanol-water partition coefficient and Henry's law constant in predicting the lipid-water partition coefficients of organic chemicals

Partition coefficients for storage lipid-water (logKlw) and phospholipid-water (logKpw) phases are key parameters to understand the bioaccumulation and toxicity of organic contaminants. However, the published experimental databases of these properties are dwarfs and current estimation approaches are cumbersome. Here, we present partition models that exploit the correlations of logKlw, and of logKpw with the linear combinations of the octanol-water partition coefficient (logKow) and the dimensionless Henry's law constant (air-water partition coefficient, logKaw). The calibrated partition models successfully describe the variations in logKlw data (n = 305, R2 = 0.971, root-mean-square-error (rmse) = 0.375), and in logKpw data (n = 131, R2 = 0.953, rmse = 0.413). With the inputs of logKow and logKaw estimated from the U.S. EPA's EPI Suite, our models of logKlw and logKpw have exhibited rmse = 0.52 with respect to experimental values indicating suitability of these models for inclusion in the EPI Suite. Our models perform similar to or better than the previously reported models such as one parameter partition models, Abraham solvation models, and models based on quantum-chemical calculations. Taken together, our models are robust, easy-to-use, and provide insight into variations of logKlw and logKpw in terms of hydrophobicity and volatility trait of chemicals.

Raman Microscopy Investigation of GLP-1 Peptide Association with Supported Phospholipid Bilayers

A wide range of important biological processes occur at phospholipid membranes including cell signaling, where a peptide or small molecule targets a membrane-localized receptor protein. In this work, we report the adaptation of confocal Raman microscopy to quantify populations of unlabeled glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), a membrane-active 30-residue incretin peptide, in supported phospholipid bilayers deposited on the interior surfaces of wide-pore porous silica particles. Quantification of lipid bilayer-associated peptide is achieved by measuring the Raman scattering intensity of the peptide relative to that of the supported lipid bilayer, which serves as an internal standard. The dependence of the bilayer-associated GLP-1 population on the solution concentration of GLP-1 produces an isotherm used to determine the equilibrium constant for peptide-bilayer association and the maximum peptide surface coverage. The maximum coverage of GLP-1 in the lipid bilayer was found to be only 1/5th of a full monolayer based on its hydrodynamic radius. The saturation coverage, therefore, is not limited by the size of GLP-1 but by the ability of the bilayer to accommodate the peptide at high concentrations within the bilayer. Raman spectra show that GLP-1 association with the supported bilayer is accompanied by structural changes consistent with the intercalation of the peptide into the bilayer, where the observed increase in acyl-chain order would increase the lipid density and provide free volume needed to accommodate the peptide. These results were compared with previous measurements of the association of fluorescently labeled GLP-1 with a planar-supported bilayer; the unlabeled peptide exhibits a 3-fold greater affinity for the lipid bilayer on the porous silica support, suggesting that the fluorescent label alters the GLP-1 lipid bilayer association.

Using single-vesicle technologies to unravel the heterogeneity of extracellular vesicles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are heterogeneous lipid containers with a complex molecular cargo comprising several populations with unique roles in biological processes. These vesicles are closely associated with specific physiological features, which makes them invaluable in the detection and monitoring of various diseases. EVs play a key role in pathophysiological processes by actively triggering genetic or metabolic responses. However, the heterogeneity of their structure and composition hinders their application in medical diagnosis and therapies. This diversity makes it difficult to establish their exact physiological roles, and the functions and composition of different EV (sub)populations. Ensemble averaging approaches currently employed for EV characterization, such as western blotting or 'omics' technologies, tend to obscure rather than reveal these heterogeneities. Recent developments in single-vesicle analysis have made it possible to overcome these limitations and have facilitated the development of practical clinical applications. In this review, we discuss the benefits and challenges inherent to the current methods for the analysis of single vesicles and review the contribution of these approaches to the understanding of EV biology. We describe the contributions of these recent technological advances to the characterization and phenotyping of EVs, examination of the role of EVs in cell-to-cell communication pathways and the identification and validation of EVs as disease biomarkers. Finally, we discuss the potential of innovative single-vesicle imaging and analysis methodologies using microfluidic devices, which promise to deliver rapid and effective basic and practical applications for minimally invasive prognosis systems.

Hybrid-Lipid Bilayers Induce n-Alkyl-Chain Order in Reversed-Phase Chromatographic Surfaces, Impacting their Shape Selectivity for Aromatic Hydrocarbon Partitioning

Shape selectivity is important in reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separations, where stationary phases are capable of separating geometric isomers, thereby resolving solutes based on their three-dimensional structure or shape rather than other chemical differences. Numerous chromatographic studies have been carried out using n-alkyl-chain-modified columns to understand how molecular shape affects retention. For polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), it was found that planar compounds were selectively retained over nonplanar structures of comparable molecular weight on surfaces with longer n-alkyl chains, higher chain-density, or at lower temperatures, where selectivity likely arises with greater ordering of the n-alkyl chains. A limitation of these studies, however, is the small range of chain ordering that can be achieved and lack of a direct measure of the n-alkyl-chain order of the stationary phases. In this work, we employ a C₁₈ stationary phase modified with a monolayer of phospholipid as a means of significantly varying the n-alkyl chain order. These hybrid-supported lipid bilayers, which have previously been employed as membrane-like stationary phases for measuring lipophilicity, provide a unique approach to control n-alkyl chain ordering by varying the acyl chain length and degree of unsaturation of the phospholipid modifier. The degree of alkyl-chain order of the resulting modified surfaces is determined from the ratio of trans- versus gauche-conformers, measured in situ within individual porous particles by confocal Raman microscopy. This methodology was also used to assess the affinity of these surfaces for planar versus nonplanar PAH molecules. The retention selectivity for the planar versus nonplanar compounds, thus determined, was found to vary significantly and systematically with the degree of order of the acyl/alkyl chains in the hybrid-supported lipid bilayers. The investigation also demonstrates the utility of confocal Raman microscopy for interrogating the impact of solute partitioning on stationary-phase structure within porous chromatographic particles.

Confocal Raman Microscopy Investigation of Phospholipid Monolayers Deposited on Nitrile-Modified Surfaces in Porous Silica Particles

Phospholipid bilayers deposited on a variety of surfaces provide models for investigation of the lipid membrane structure and supports for biocompatible sensors. Hybrid-supported phospholipid bilayers (HSLBs) are stable membrane models for these investigations, typically prepared by self-assembly of a lipid monolayer over an n-alkane-modified surface. HSLBs have been prepared on n-alkyl chain-modified silica and used for lipophilicity-based chromatographic separations. The structure of these hybrid bilayers differs from vesicle membranes where the lipid head group spacing is greater due to interdigitation of the lipid acyl chains with the underlying n-alkyl chains bound to the silica surface. This interdigitated structure exhibits a broader melting transition at a higher temperature due to strong interactions between the lipid acyl chains and the immobile n-alkyl chains bound to silica. In the present work, we seek to reduce the interactions between a lipid monolayer and its supporting substrate by self-assembly of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) on porous silica functionalized with nitrile-terminated surface ligands. The frequency of Raman scattering of the surface -C≡N stretching mode at the lipid-nitrile interface is consistent with an n-alkane-like environment and insensitive to lipid head group charge, indicating that the lipid acyl chains are in contact with the surface nitrile groups. The head group area of this lipid monolayer was determined from the within-particle phospholipid concentration and silica specific surface area and found to be 54 ± 2 Ų, equivalent to the head group area of a DMPC vesicle bilayer. The structure of these nitrile-supported phospholipid monolayers was characterized below and above their melting transition by confocal Raman microscopy and found to be nearly identical to DMPC vesicle bilayers. Their narrow gel-to-fluid-phase melting transition is equivalent to dispersed DMPC vesicles, suggesting that the acyl chain structure on the nitrile support mimics the outer leaflet structure of a vesicle membrane.

Confocal Raman Microscopy Investigation of Self-Assembly of Hybrid Phospholipid Bilayers within Individual Porous Silica Chromatographic Particles

Hybrid-supported phospholipid bilayers are a model structure utilized for measurement of molecular interactions that typically occur at cell membranes. These membrane models are prepared by adsorption of a lipid monolayer onto a stable n-alkyl chain layer that is covalently bound to a support surface. Hybrid bilayers have been adapted to chromatographic retention measurements of lipophilicity through the assembly of a phospholipid monolayer onto n-alkane-modified silica surfaces in reversed-phase chromatographic particles. Recent Raman microscopy studies of these particles have shown that the acyl chains of the phospholipid interact with the C₁₈-alkyl chains immobilized on the silica surface, where both lipid and C₁₈ alkyl chains become ordered because of chain interdigitation. Confocal Raman microscopy has also been used to investigate the association of small molecules with hybrid-lipid bilayers in C₁₈ chromatographic silica particles; the partitioning of model solutes compares favorably to that in lipid vesicle membranes with similar changes in acyl-chain structure (disordering) with solute partitioning. The present study seeks information about how these membrane-mimetic bilayers assemble onto the C₁₈-derivatized silica surfaces of reversed-phase chromatographic silica particles. Confocal Raman microscopy is capable of interrogating the time-dependent internal composition and structure within individual silica particles. The Raman scattering data can be resolved into component Raman spectra and corresponding composition vectors that describe the time-dependent changes in intensity of the component spectra. This analysis provides insight into how the structures of both the lipid and C₁₈ alkyl chains of hybrid lipid bilayers evolve during deposition and organization on the internal surfaces of reversed-phase chromatographic silica particles.

Single Layer Graphene for Estimation of Axial Spatial Resolution in Confocal Raman Microscopy Depth Profiling

Single layer graphene (SLG), with its angstrom-scale thickness and strong Raman scattering cross section, was adapted for measurement of the axial ( Z-direction) probe beam profile in confocal Raman microscopy depth-profiling experiments. SLG adsorbed to a glass microscope coverslip (SLG/SiO₂) served as a platform for the estimation of axial spatial resolution. Profiles were measured by stepping the confocal probe volume through the SLG/SiO₂ interface while measuring Raman scattering from the sample. Using a high numerical aperture (1.4 NA) oil immersion objective, axial profiles were derived from the graphene 2D vibrational mode and fit to a Lorentzian instrument response function (IRF). Subsequently, the Z-direction spatial resolution in depth-profiling studies of polymer interfaces was estimated through convolution of the Lorentzian IRF with a step function representing the ideal junction separating the phases of interest. In the study of a bipolar polymer membrane, confocal Raman depth profiles of the AEM/CEM (anion exchange membrane/cation exchange membrane) interface show that the transition region is broader than the limiting response and are consistent with roughness at the boundary on the order of a few micrometers. Using ClO₄^- as a Raman active mobile ion probe, application of self-modeling curve resolution (SMCR) to spectral data sets within a profile showed ClO₄^- ions track the spatial distribution of the AEM phase. Finally, in measurements on a liquid-solid interface formed between 1-octanol and a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane, the IRF derived from fitting the experimental profile was slightly narrower than those obtained from profiling SLG, indicating the potential to use polymer-liquid interfaces formed from widely available materials and reagents for estimation of axial spatial resolution in confocal Raman depth-profiling.