pH-Dependent physicochemical properties of ornithine lipid in mono- and bilayers

Experimental and simulation-based characterization of surfactant adsorption layers at fluid interfaces

Adsorption of surfactants to fluid interfaces occurs in numerous technological and daily-life contexts. The coverage at the interface and other properties of the formed adsorption layers determine the performance of a surfactant with regard to the desired application. Given the importance of these applications, there is a great demand for the comprehensive characterization and understanding of surfactant adsorption layers. In this review, we provide an overview of suitable experimental and simulation-based techniques and review the literature in which they were used for the investigation of surfactant adsorption layers. We come to the conclusion that, while these techniques have been successfully applied to investigate Langmuir monolayers of water-insoluble surfactants, their application to the study of Gibbs adsorption layers of water-soluble surfactants has not been fully exploited. Finally, we emphasize the great potential of these methods in providing a deeper understanding of the behavior of soluble surfactants at interfaces, which is crucial for optimizing their performance in various applications.

Anion Competition at Positively Charged Surfactant Monolayers

Interactions of anions with hydrophobic surfaces of proteins and water-soluble polymers depend on the ability of the ions to shed their hydration shells. At positively charged surfactant monolayers, the interactions of anions are less well understood. Due to the interplay of electrostatic surface forces, hydration effects, and ion-ion interactions in the electrostatic double layer, a comprehensive microscopic picture remains elusive. Herein, we study the interactions of chloride, bromide, and a mixture of these two anions at the aqueous interface of dihexadecyldimethylammonium (DHDA+) and dioctadecyldimethylammonium (DODA+) cationic monolayers. Using molecular dynamics simulations and three surface-sensitive X-ray scattering techniques, we demonstrate that bromide interacts preferentially over chloride with both monolayers. The structure of the two monolayers and their interfacial electron density profiles obtained from the simulations quantitatively reproduce the experimental data. We observe that chloride and bromide form contact ion pairs with the quaternary ammonium groups on both monolayers. However, ion pairing with bromide leads to a greater reduction in the number of water molecules hydrating the anion, resulting in more energetically stable ion pairs. This leads to long-range (>3 nm) lateral correlations between bromide ions on the structured DODA+ monolayer. These observations indicate that ion hydration is the dominant factor determining the interfacial electrolyte structure.

Bacterial lipid biophysics and membrane organization

The formation of lateral microdomains is emerging as a central organizing principle in bacterial membranes. These microdomains are targets of antibiotic development and have the potential to enhance natural product synthesis, but the rules governing their assembly are unclear. Previous studies have suggested that microdomain formation is promoted by lipid phase separation, particularly by cardiolipin (CL) and isoprenoid lipids, and there is strong evidence that CL biosynthesis is required for recruitment of membrane proteins to cell poles and division sites. New work demonstrates that additional bacterial lipids may mediate membrane protein localization and function, opening the field for mechanistic evaluation of lipid-driven membrane organization in vivo.

The Complete Phase Diagram of Monolayers of Enantiomeric N-Stearoyl-threonine Mixtures with Preferred Heterochiral Interactions

Langmuir monolayers of chiral amphiphiles are well-controlled model systems for the investigation of phenomena related to stereochemistry. Here, we have investigated mixed monolayers of one pair of enantiomers (l and d) of the amino-acid-based amphiphile N-stearoyl-threonine. The monolayer characteristics were studied by pressure-area isotherm measurements and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) over a wide range of mixing ratios defined by the d-enantiomer mole fraction x_D. While the isotherms provide insights into thermodynamical aspects, such as transition pressure, compression/decompression hysteresis, and preferential homo- and heterochiral interactions, GIXD reveals the molecular structural arrangements on the Ångström scale. Dominant heterochiral interactions in the racemic mixture lead to compound formation and the appearance of a nonchiral rectangular lattice, although the pure enantiomers form a chiral oblique lattice. Miscibility was found to be limited to mixtures with 0.27 ≲ x_D ≲ 0.73, as well as to both outer edges (x_D ≲ 0.08 and x_D ≳ 0.92). Beyond this range, coexistence of oblique and rectangular lattices occurs, as is clearly seen in the GIXD patterns. Based on the results, a complete phase diagram with two eutectic points at x_D ≈ 0.25 and x_D ≈ 0.75 is proposed. Moreover, N-stearoyl-threonine was found to have a strong tendency to form a hydrogen-bonding network between the headgroups, which promotes superlattice formation.