Gramicidin A interaction at a dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine monolayer on a mercury drop electrode

An electrochemical study into the interaction between complement-derived peptides and DOPC mono- and bilayers

Electrochemical methods employing the hanging mercury drop electrode were used to study the interaction between variants of the complement-derived antimicrobial peptide CNY21 (CNYITELRRQH ARASHLGLAR) and dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) monolayers. Capacitance potential and impedance measurements showed that the CNY21 analogues investigated interact with DOPC monolayers coating the mercury drop. Increasing the peptide hydrophobicity by substituting the two histidine residues with leucine resulted in a deeper peptide penetration into the hydrophobic region of the DOPC monolayer, indicated by an increase in the dielectric constant of the lipid monolayer (Deltaepsilon = 2.0 after 15 min interaction). Increasing the peptide net charge from +3 to +5 by replacing the histidines by lysines, on the other hand, arrests the peptide in the lipid head group region. Reduction of electroactive ions (Tl+, Pb2+, Cd2+, and Eu3+) at the monolayer-coated electrode was employed to further characterize the types of defects induced by the peptides. All peptides studied permeabilize the monolayer to Tl+ to an appreciable extent, but this effect is more pronounced for the more hydrophobic peptide (CNY21L), which also allows penetration of larger ions and ions of higher valency. The results for the various ions indicate that charge repulsion rather than ion size is the determining factor for cation penetration through peptide-induced defects in the DOPC monolayer. The effects obtained for monolayers were compared to results obtained with bilayers from liposome leakage and circular dichroism studies for unilamellar DOPC vesicles, and in situ ellipsometry for supported DOPC bilayers. Trends in peptide-induced liposome leakage were similar to peptide effects on electrochemical impedance and permeability of electroactive ions for the monolayer system, demonstrating that formation of transmembrane pores alone does not constitute the mechanism of action for the peptides investigated. Instead, our results point to the importance of local packing defects in the lipid membrane in close proximity to the adsorbed peptide molecules.

Complex numbers in chemometrics

Electrical impedance gives multivariate complex number data as results. Two examples of multivariate electrical impedance data measured on lipid monolayers in different solutions give rise to matrices (16x50 and 38x50) of complex numbers. Multivariate data analysis by principal component analysis (PCA) or singular value decomposition (SVD) can be used for complex data and the necessary equations are given. The scores and loadings obtained are vectors of complex numbers. It is shown that the complex number PCA and SVD are better at concentrating information in a few components than the naïve juxtaposition method and that Argand diagrams can replace score and loading plots. Different concentrations of Magainin and Gramicidin A give different responses and also the role of the electrolyte medium can be studied. An interaction of Gramicidin A in the solution with the monolayer over time can be observed.

Gramicidin A Channel in a Matrix from a Semifluorinated Surfactant Monolayer

Gramicidin A, a polypeptide antibiotic forming transmembrane ion channels, has been incorporated into a Langmuir monolayer formed by a semifluorinated alkane (SFA). In this work, partially fluorinated tetracosane, perfluorohexyloctadecane (F6H18), has been applied, aiming at finding a suitable matrix for gramicidin A to be transferred onto solid support for a biosensor design. For this purpose, the physiological conditions were of special interest (mixed monolayers containing low gramicidin proportion and the surface pressure of 30 mN/m). Mixed monolayers of gramicidin and SFA were found to be miscible within the whole range of mole fractions. A very significant increase of the stability of SFA monolayer has been found in the presence of gramicidin, even at such a low proportion as X(gramicidin) = 0.1, which is reflected in a 3.5-fold increase of the collapse pressure value of mixed monolayer as compared to the film from pure SFA. This interesting phenomenon has been interpreted as being due to the existence of a strong dipole-dipole interaction between both film-forming molecules. Opposite sign of the measured electric surface potential for gramicidin and SFA, resulting from different directions of the dipole moment vectors in both film molecules, implies that the ordered, antiparallel orientation of the dipole moments in the mixed gramicidin/SFA system can be responsible for its extremely high stability.

Electrochemical screening of anti-microbial peptide LL-37 interaction with phospholipids

LL-37 is an alpha-helical antimicrobial peptide of human origin. It is a 37 residue cathelicidin peptide. This paper explores the use of electrochemical methods to investigate the interaction of LL-37 with phospholipid and lipid A monolayers on a mercury drop electrode. Experiments were carried out in Dulbecco's phosphate buffered saline at pH approximately 7.6. The capacity-potential curves of the coated electrode in the presence and absence of LL-37 were measured using out-of-phase ac voltammetry. The frequency dependence of the complex impedance of the coated electrode in the presence and absence of LL-37 was estimated at -0.4 V versus Ag/AgCl 3.5 mol dm(-3) KCl. The monolayer permeability to ions was studied by following the reduction of Tl(I) to Tl(Hg) at the coated electrode. LL-37 shows no significant interaction with DOPC. However, LL-37 shows a small interaction with DOPG and lipid A within a DOPC monolayer where the monolayer permeability is marginally increased and the zero frequency capacitance (ZFC) is marginally decreased in both cases. LL-37 shows a significant interaction with a lipid A monolayer thereby decreasing the ZFC by 30%. The results concur with the known membrane active properties of LL-37 and establish this electrochemical approach as a key technique for screening peptides.

Application of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to the study of dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine monolayers on mercury

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has been applied to the analysis of the behavior of monolayers of dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) on a mercury electrode. Experiments were carried out in electrolytes KCl and NaCl (0.1 mol dm(-3)) and Mg(NO3)2 (0.05 mol dm(-3)), and the frequency dependence of the complex impedance was estimated between 65 000 and 0.1 Hz at potentials -0.4 to -1.5 V versus Ag/AgCl 3.5 mol dm(-3) KCl at uncoated and coated electrode surfaces. Experiments were also carried out in the presence of gramicidin A (gA). Between the potentials of -0.4 and -0.7 V, the DOPC monolayer behaves as an almost ideal capacitor with little frequency dispersion. At more negative potentials, the impedance data show the formation of defects (-0.7 to -0.85 V), ingression of electrolyte into the layer (capacitance peak approximately -0.935 V), reorientation of phospholipid-water structures (capacitance peak approximately -1.0 V), and initiation of phospholipid desorption (approximately -1.3 V). gA interaction with the phospholipid monolayer at -0.4 V is shown as an additional low-frequency element. A general "one capacitor model" in a RC series equivalent circuit is developed incorporating the frequency dispersion of the capacitance, distribution of the time constants of the dispersion, and a coefficient related to the interface between the solution and the coated electrode. This latter coefficient is the most robust and decreases at potentials approaching those coincident with the DOPC phase transitions.