Estimation of Mechanical Strength of Unilamellar and Multilamellar AOT/Water Vesicles and Their Rupture Using Micropipet Aspiration

Elucidating Structural Configuration of Lipid Assemblies for mRNA Delivery Systems

The development of mRNA delivery systems utilizing lipid-based assemblies holds immense potential for precise control of gene expression and targeted therapeutic interventions. Despite advancements in lipid-based gene delivery systems, a critical knowledge gap remains in understanding how the biophysical characteristics of lipid assemblies and mRNA complexes influence these systems. Herein, we investigate the biophysical properties of cationic liposomes and their role in shaping mRNA lipoplexes by comparing various fabrication methods. Notably, an innovative fabrication technique called the liposome under cryo-assembly (LUCA) cycle, involving a precisely controlled freeze-thaw-vortex process, produces distinctive onion-like concentric multilamellar structures in cationic DOTAP/DOPE liposomes, in contrast to a conventional extrusion method that yields unilamellar liposomes. The inclusion of short-chain DHPC lipids further modulates the structure of cationic liposomes, transforming them from multilamellar to unilamellar structures during the LUCA cycle. Furthermore, the biophysical and biological evaluations of mRNA lipoplexes unveil that the optimal N/P charge ratio in the lipoplex can vary depending on the structure of initial cationic liposomes. Cryo-EM structural analysis demonstrates that multilamellar cationic liposomes induce two distinct interlamellar spacings in cationic lipoplexes, emphasizing the significant impact of the liposome structures on the final structure of mRNA lipoplexes. Taken together, our results provide an intriguing insight into the relationship between lipid assembly structures and the biophysical characteristics of the resulting lipoplexes. These relationships may open the door for advancing lipid-based mRNA delivery systems through more streamlined manufacturing processes.

Effect of salt on the lamellar Lα-to-MLV transformation in SDS/octanol/water under microfluidic flow

We investigate the effect of added (NaCl) salt and varying flow rate on the phase behaviour and flow response of a model surfactant L_α phase, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/octanol/water, using small angle neutron scattering (SANS) and polarised optical microscopy in microfluidics, supported by NMR, viscosity, conductivity and zeta potential measurements. A long (∼3 m) tubular microchannel device is employed to quantify the spatiotemporal structural evolution of the system towards multilamellar vesicles (MLV). The effect of salt is rationalised in terms of changes in membrane bending rigidity and phase stability. It is shown that ∼1.8 w/w% NaCl addition results in MLV formation within the shortest time (or equivalent lengthscale) and yields near-centrosymmetric scattering profiles characteristic of MLVs (at a reference 1 mL h^-1 flow rate and ≃90 s^-1 shear rate). Further salt addition yields biphasic systems that remain strongly aligned under flow, while lower salt content also increases scattering anisotropy, accompanied by higher membrane rigidity and solution viscosity. Increasing flow rate causes greater initial L_α alignment, and thus flow anisotropy, but also faster evolution towards isotropy and MLV formation.

Impact of Lipid Peroxidation on the Response of Cell Membranes to High-Speed Equibiaxial Stretching: A Computational Study

The difference between diseased and healthy cellular membranes in response to mechanical stresses is crucial for biology, as well as in the development of medical devices. However, the biomolecular mechanisms by which mechanical stresses interact with diseased cellular components remain largely unknown. In this work, we focus on the response of diseased cellular membranes with lipid peroxidation to high-speed tensile loadings. We find that the critical areal strain (ξ_c, when the pore forms) is highly sensitive to lipid peroxidation. For example, ξ_c of a fully oxidized bilayer is only 64 and 69% of the nonoxidized one at the stretching speed of 0.1 and 0.6 m/s, respectively. ξ_c decreases with the increase in the oxidized lipid ratio, regardless of the speeds. Also, the critical rupture tension of membranes exhibits a similar change. It is obvious that the oxidized membranes are more easily damaged than normal ones by high-speed stretching, which coincides with experimental findings. The reason is that peroxidation introduces a polar group to the tail of lipids, increases the hydrophilicity of tails, and warps the tails to the membrane-water interface, which causes loose accumulation and disorder of lipid tails. This can be deduced from the variation in the area per lipid and order parameter. In addition, the lowering stretching modulus and line tension of membranes (i.e., softening) after lipid peroxidation is also a significant factor. We reveal the difference between the peroxidized (diseased) and normal membrane in response to high-speed stretching, give the ξ_c value in the pore formation of membranes and analyze the influence of the stretching speed, peroxidation ratio, and molecular structure of phospholipids. We hope that the molecular-level information will be useful for the development of biological and medical devices in the future.

Measurement of Forces between Supported Cationic Bilayers by Colloid Probe Atomic Force Microscopy: Electrolyte Concentration and Composition

The interactions between supported cationic surfactant bilayers were measured by colloidal probe atomic force spectroscopy, and the effect of different halide salts was investigated. Di(alkylisopropylester)dimethylammonium methylsulfate (DIPEDMAMS) bilayers were fabricated by the vesicle fusion technique on muscovite mica. The interactions between the bilayers were measured in increasing concentrations of NaCl, NaBr, NaI, and CaCl₂. In NaCl, the bilayer interactions were repulsive at all concentrations investigated, and the Debye length and surface potential were observed to decrease with increasing concentration. The interactions were found to follow the electrical double layer (EDL) component of DLVO theory well. However, van der Waals forces were not detected; instead, a strong hydration repulsion was observed at short separations. CaCl₂ had a similar effect on the interactions as NaCl. NaBr and NaI were observed to be more efficient at decreasing surface potential than the chloride salts, with the efficacy increasing with the ionic radius.

Fluorescent Probe Study of AOT Vesicle Membranes and Their Alteration upon Addition of Aniline or the Aniline Dimer p-Aminodiphenylamine (PADPA)

Artificial vesicles formed from sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) in aqueous solution are used successfully as additives for enzymatic oligomerizations or polymerizations of aniline or the aniline dimer p-aminodiphenylamine (PADPA) under slightly acidic conditions (e.g., pH 4.3 with horseradish peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide as oxidants). In these systems, the reactions occur membrane surface-confined. Therefore, (i) the physicochemical properties of the vesicle membrane and (ii) the interaction of aniline or PADPA with the AOT membrane play crucial roles in the progress and final outcome of the reactions. For this reason, the properties of AOT vesicles with and without added aniline or PADPA were investigated by using two fluorescent membrane probes: 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) and 6-lauroyl-2-dimethylaminonaphthalene (Laurdan). DPH and Laurdan were used as "sensors" of the membrane fluidity, surface polarity, and membrane phase state. Moreover, the effect of hexanol, alone or in combination with aniline or PADPA, as a possible modifier of the AOT membrane, was also studied with the aim of evaluating whether the membrane fluidity and surface polarity is altered significantly by hexanol, which, in turn, may have an influence on the mentioned types of reactions. The data obtained indicate that the AOT vesicle membrane at room temperature and pH 4.3 (0.1 M NaH₂PO₄) is more fluid and has a more polar surface than in the case of fluid phospholipid vesicle membranes formed from 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC). Furthermore, the fluorescence measurements indicate that mixed AOT-hexanol membranes are less fluid than pure AOT membranes and that they have a lower surface polarity than pure AOT membranes. PADPA strongly binds to AOT and to mixed AOT/hexanol membranes and leads to drastic changes in the membrane properties (decrease in fluidity and surface polarity), resulting in Laurdan fluorescence spectra, which are characteristic for intramembrane phase separations (coexistence of ordered and disordered domains). This means that highly fluid AOT membranes transform upon the addition of PADPA into membranes that have ordered domains. Although the relevance of this finding for the enzymatic oligomerization of PADPA is not yet clear, it is also of interest if one likes to use heterogeneous vesicle membranes as additives for carrying out membrane surface-confined reactions that do not necessarily involve PADPA as a reactant.

Synthesis of Functional Nanomaterials in Ionic Liquids

Utilization of ionic liquids (ILs) in material synthesis is a promising field. The unusual properties of ILs provide new opportunities for the design of functional materials, and much excellent work has been reported. Here, the progress in material design and synthesis using ILs, especially nanomaterials, is discussed, including the unitization of ILs as synthetic media, templates, precursors, or components in the synthesis of various categories of nanomaterials. The challenges and opportunities in this interesting and rapid developing area are also discussed.

How does the surface charge of ionic surfactant and cholesterol forming vesicles control rotational and translational motion of rhodamine 6G perchlorate (R6G ClO₄)?

The rotational dynamics and translational diffusion of a hydrophilic organic molecule, rhodamine 6G perchlorate (R6G ClO4) in small unilamellar vesicles formed by two different ionic surfactants, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), with cholesterol have been investigated using fluorescence spectroscopic methods. Moreover, in this article the formation of vesicle using anionic surfactant, SDS at different cholesterol-to-surfactant molar ratio (expressed by Q value (Q = [cholesterol]/[surfactant])) has also been reported. Visual observation, dynamic light scattering (DLS) study, turbidity measurement, steady state fluorescence anisotropy (r0) measurement, and eventually microscopic images reveal the formation of small unilamellar vesicles in aqueous solution. Also, in this study, an attempt has been made to observe whether the cationic probe molecule, rhodamine 6G (R6G) experiences similar or different microenvironment in cholesterol-SDS and cholesterol-CTAB assemblies with increase in cholesterol concentration. The influence of cholesterol on rotational and translational diffusion of R6G molecules has been investigated by monitoring UV-vis absorption, fluorescence, time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy, and finally fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) measurements. In cholesterol-SDS assemblies, due to the strong electrostatic attractive interaction between the negatively charged surface of vesicle and cationic R6G molecules, the rotational and diffusion motion of R6G becomes slower. However, in cholesterol-CTAB aggregates, the enhanced hydrophobicity and electrostatic repulsion induces the migration of R6G from vesicle bilayer to aqueous phase. The experimental observations suggest that the surface charge of vesicles has a stronger influence than the hydrophobicity of the vesicle bilayer on the rotational and diffusion motion of R6G molecules.

Wetting-mediated collective tubulation and pearling in confined vesicular drops of DDAB solutions

Whether driven by external mechanical stresses (shear flow) or induced by membrane-active peptides and/or proteins, the collective growth of tubules in membranous fluids has seldom been reported. The pearling destabilization of these membranous tubules which requires an activation of the shape distortion, often induced by optical tweezers, membrane-active biomolecules or an electrical field, has also rarely been observed under mild experimental conditions. Here we report such events of collective tubulation and pearling destabilization in sessile drops of a didodecyl-dimethylammonium bromide (DDAB) vesicular solution that are confined by a surrounding oil medium. Based on the wetting dynamics and the features of the tubulation process, we show that the growth of the tubules here relies on a mechanism of "pinning-induced pulling" from the retracting drop, rather than the classical hydrodynamic fingering instability. We show that the whole tubulation process is driven by a strong coupling between the bulk properties of the ternary (DAAB/water/oil) system and the dynamics of wetting. Finally, we discuss the pearling destabilization of these tubules under vanishing static interface tension and quite mild tensile force arising from their pulling. We show that under those mild conditions, shape disturbances readily grow, either as pearling waves moving toward the drop-reservoir or as Rayleigh-type peristaltic modulations. Besides revealing singular non-Rayleigh pearling modes, this work also brings new insights into the flow dynamics in membranous tubules anchored to an infinite reservoir.