Raman spectra and conformation of the glycerophosphorylcholine headgroup

Structure and Interaction of Ceramide-Containing Liposomes with Gold Nanoparticles as Characterized by SERS and Cryo-EM

Due to the great potential of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) as local vibrational probe of lipid-nanostructure interaction in lipid bilayers, it is important to characterize these interactions in detail. The interpretation of SERS data of lipids in living cells requires an understanding of how the molecules interact with gold nanostructures and how intermolecular interactions influence the proximity and contact between lipids and nanoparticles. Ceramide, a sphingolipid that acts as important structural component and regulator of biological function, therefore of interest to probing, lacks a phosphocholine head group that is common to many lipids used in liposome models. SERS spectra of liposomes of a mixture of ceramide, phosphatidic acid, and phosphatidylcholine, as well as of pure ceramide and of the phospholipid mixture are reported. Distinct groups of SERS spectra represent varied contributions of the choline, sphingosine, and phosphate head groups and the structures of the acyl chains. Spectral bands related to the state of order of the membrane and moreover to the amide function of the sphingosine head groups indicate that the gold nanoparticles interact with molecules involved in different intermolecular relations. While cryogenic electron microscopy shows the formation of bilayer liposomes in all preparations, pure ceramide was found to also form supramolecular, concentric stacked and densely packed lamellar, nonliposomal structures. That the formation of such supramolecular assemblies supports the intermolecular interactions of ceramide is indicated by the SERS data. The unique spectral features that are assigned to the ceramide-containing lipid model systems here enable an identification of these molecules in biological systems and allow us to obtain information on their structure and interaction by SERS.

Vibrational Study on Structure and Bioactivity of Protein Fibers Grafted with Phosphorylated Methacrylates

In the last decades, silk fibroin and wool keratin have been considered functional materials for biomedical applications. In this study, fabrics containing silk fibers from Bombyx mori and Tussah silk fibers from Antheraea pernyi, as well as wool keratin fabrics, were grafted with phosmer CL and phosmer M (commercial names, i.e., methacrylate monomers containing phosphate groups in the molecular side chain) with different weight gains. Both phosmers were recently proposed as flame retarding agents, and their chemical composition suggested a possible application in bone tissue engineering. IR and Raman spectroscopy were used to disclose the possible structural changes induced by grafting and identify the most reactive amino acids towards the phosmers. The same techniques were used to investigate the nucleation of a calcium phosphate phase on the surface of the samples (i.e., bioactivity) after ageing in simulated body fluid (SBF). The phosmers were found to polymerize onto the biopolymers efficiently, and tyrosine and serine underwent phosphorylation (monitored through the strengthening of the Raman band at 1600 cm-1 and the weakening of the Raman band at 1400 cm-1, respectively). In grafted wool keratin, cysteic acid and other oxidation products of disulphide bridges were detected together with sulphated residues. Only slight conformational changes were observed upon grafting, generally towards an enrichment in ordered domains, suggesting that the amorphous regions were more prone to react (and, sometimes, degrade). All samples were shown to be bioactive, with a weight gain of up to 8%. The most bioactive samples contained the highest phosmers amounts, i.e., the highest amounts of phosphate nucleating sites. The sulphate/sulphonate groups present in grafted wool samples appeared to increase bioactivity, as shown by the five-fold increase of the IR phosphate band at 1040 cm-1.

Thermosensitive double network of zwitterionic polymers for controlled mechanical strength of hydrogels

Zwitterionic hydrogels have promising potential as a result of their anti-fouling and biocompatible properties, but they have recently also gained further attention due to their controllable stimuli responses. We successfully synthesized two zwitterionic polymers, poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (poly-MPC) and poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide) (poly-DMAPS), which have complementary ionic sequences in their respective zwitterionic side groups and likely form an interpenetrating double network to improve their mechanical strength. The synthesized poly-MPC was blended in a poly-DMAPS matrix (MD gel) and showed high viscosity, while poly-DMAPS was blended in a poly-MPC hydrogel (DM gel) and revealed UCST behavior as the temperature increased. In addition, cross-section images of the MD hydrogel exhibited its compact and uniform structure, while the DM gel was found to exhibit a porous micro-structure with clear boundaries. The results explained the low viscosity of the DM gel, which was also confirmed via 3D Raman mapping. To sum up, the preliminary data demonstrated that binary zwitterionic hydrogels have thermosensitive mechanical properties, promoting further bio-applications in the future, such as in wound healing.

Zwitterionic hydrogels have promising anti-fouling properties but weak mechanical strength. Here, we synthesized two polyzwitterions, formulated them as double network hydrogels for improving strength and for controlled by temperature stimuli.

Optical and vibrational properties of phosphorylcholine-based contact lenses-Experimental and theoretical investigations

The Raman, MIR and UV-vis spectroscopy have been used to characterize Omafilcon A material constructing the one of the Proclear family contact lenses. The Omafilcon A is hydrogel material composed of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (PC) polymers crosslinked with ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). Vibrational and electronic properties of the Omafilcon A material were also investigated by quantum chemical calculations. Experimentally obtained Raman, MIR and optical spectra were compared to the theoretical ones calculated applying RHF and DFT methodology. The quantum chemical calculations were performed for isolated monomers of lenses compounds as well as for their dimers and trimers to elucidate the effect of Omafilcon A polymerization and the role of an individual components.

Raman spectroscopic characterization and differentiation of seminal plasma

Raman spectroscopy (RS) was applied for the analysis of seminal plasma in order to detect spectral parameters, which might be used for differentiating the normal and abnormal semen samples. Raman spectra of seminal plasma separated from normal and abnormal semen samples, showed a distinct difference in peak ratios between 1449 and 1418 cm(-1) (P < 0.05). More efficient alternative method of using principal component analysis-linear discriminate analysis based on Raman spectroscopic data yielded a diagnostic sensitivity of 73% and specificity of 82%. The results suggest that RS combined with the multivariate analysis method has the potential for differentiating semen samples by examination of the corresponding seminal plasma.

Discriminant analysis of Raman spectra for body fluid identification for forensic purposes

Detection and identification of blood, semen and saliva stains, the most common body fluids encountered at a crime scene, are very important aspects of forensic science today. This study targets the development of a nondestructive, confirmatory method for body fluid identification based on Raman spectroscopy coupled with advanced statistical analysis. Dry traces of blood, semen and saliva obtained from multiple donors were probed using a confocal Raman microscope with a 785-nm excitation wavelength under controlled laboratory conditions. Results demonstrated the capability of Raman spectroscopy to identify an unknown substance to be semen, blood or saliva with high confidence.

Raman spectroscopic signature of semen and its potential application to forensic body fluid identification

A great potential of Raman spectroscopy for non-destructive, confirmatory identification of body fluids at the crime scene has been reported recently (Virkler and Lednev, Forensic Sci. Int. 2008). However, that analysis was carried out on only one sample of each body fluid and did not take into account any variations that might occur between different donors of the same fluid. This paper reports on the role of heterogeneity within a sample as well as among multiple donors for human semen. Near-infrared (NIR) Raman spectroscopy was used to measure spectra of pure dried human semen samples from multiple donors in a controlled laboratory environment. The major chemical components that contributed to the Raman spectrum of semen were determined and used to tentatively identify the principal spectral components. The issue of potential spectral variations that could arise between different donors of semen was also addressed. Advanced statistical analysis of spectra obtained from multiple spots on dry samples showed that dry semen is heterogeneous and its Raman spectra could be presented as a linear combination of a fluorescent background and three spectral components. The relative contribution of each of the three components varies with donor, so no single spectrum could effectively represent an experimental Raman spectrum of dry semen in a quantitative way. The combination of the three spectral components could be considered to be a spectroscopic signature for semen. This proof-of-concept approach shows the potential for Raman spectroscopy to identify an unknown substance to be semen during forensic analysis.

Laser-Raman investigation of lysozyme-phospholipid interactions

The interaction of lysozyme with mixed 1,2-dipalmitoyl-L-phosphatidic acid/1,2-dimyristoyl-L-phosphatidylcholine liposomes was investigated by laser Raman spectroscopy. Substantial changes were observed i the spectra of both the lipid and protein in the mixed liposomes over the range 10-62 degrees C. At temperatures below 27 degrees C, interaction with lipid appears to slightly increase the amount of helical structure in lysozyme at the expense of random conformation. At temperatures above 30 degrees C, considerable beta-sheet is irreversibly formed. Onset of beta-formation appears to coincide with the formation of disordered lipid side-chains in the acidic component of the lipid. At all temperatures, the O-P-O diester stretching mode at 782 cm-1 is much more intense in the lipid/protein mixture than in lipid alone. It is observed that the dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine chain-disorder transition is lowered by 3 degrees C, while that of the phosphatidic acid is lowered by 12 degrees C, yet the post-transition conformation contains a significantly higher proportion of trans-segments in the presence of lysozyme. These results are interpreted in terms of: (1) a polar interaction between acidic phospholipid and lysozyme at temperatures below either chain-disorder transition, in which lysozyme is essentially excluded from the hydrophobic portion of the lipid and (2) an interaction at higher temperatures which involves the lipid side-chains of dipalmitoyl phosphatidic acid in the disordered state and is manifested by a substantial conformational change.

Raman spectroscopic studies of biological membrane model systems: dietherlecithins

Raman spectra are obtained for the multilayer dispersion of rac-1,2,dioctadec-9'-cis-enyl-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (dietherlecithin) in excess water. The CH stretching region was studied as a function of temperature and indicates that the multilayer dispersions undergo a liquid crystal to the gel phase transition at--21 +/- 4 degrees C.