Enzymatic hydrolysis reaction of phospholipids in monolayers

Interface-Mediated Mechanism of Action-The Root of the Cytoprotective Effect of Immediate-Release Omeprazole

Omeprazole is usually administered under an enteric coating. However, there is a Food and Drug Administration-approved strategy that enables its release in the stomach. When locally absorbed, omeprazole shows a higher efficacy and a cytoprotective effect, whose mechanism was still unknown. Therefore, we aimed to assess the effect of the absorption route on the gastric mucosa. 2D and 3D models of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) at different pH values (5.0 and 7.4) were used to mimic different absorption conditions. Several experimental techniques, namely, fluorescence studies, X-ray scattering methodologies, and Langmuir monolayers coupled with microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy techniques, were combined with molecular dynamics simulations. The results showed that electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between omeprazole and DPPC rearranged the conformational state of DPPC. Omeprazole intercalates among DPPC molecules, promoting domain formation with untilted phospholipids. Hence, the local release of omeprazole enables its action as a phospholipid-like drug, which can reinforce and protect the gastric mucosa.

Metronidazole within phosphatidylcholine lipid membranes: New insights to improve the design of imidazole derivatives

Metronidazole is a imidazole derivative with antibacterial and antiprotozoal activity. Despite its therapeutic efficacy, several studies have been developing new imidazole derivatives with lower toxicity. Considering that drug-membrane interactions are key factors for drugs pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties, the aim of this work is to provide new insights into the structure-toxicity relationship of metronidazole within phosphatidylcholine membranes. For that purpose, lipid membrane models (liposomes and monolayers) composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine were used. Experimental techniques (determination of partition coefficients and Langmuir isotherm measurements) were combined with molecular dynamics simulations. Different pHs and lipid phases were evaluated to enable a better extrapolation for in vivo conditions. The partition of metronidazole depends on the pH and on the biphasic system (octanol/water or DPPC/water system). At pH 1.2, metronidazole is hydrophilic. At pH 7.4, metronidazole disturbs the order and the packing of phospholipids. For this toxic effect, the hydroxyl group of the side chain of metronidazole is crucial by interacting with the water embedded in the membrane and with the phosphate group and the apolar chains of phospholipids.

Imidazolium-Based Lipid Analogues and Their Interaction with Phosphatidylcholine Membranes

4,5-Dialkylated imidazolium lipid salts are a new class of lipid analogues showing distinct biological activities. The potential effects of the imidazolium lipids on artificial lipid membranes and the corresponding membrane interactions was analyzed. Therefore, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) was employed to create an established lipid monolayer model and a bilayer membrane. Mixed monolayers of DPPC and 4,5-dialkylimidazolium lipids differing by their alkyl chain length (C₇, C₁₁, and C₁₅) were characterized by surface pressure-area (π-A) isotherms using a Wilhelmy film balance in combination with epifluorescence microscopy. Monolayer hysteresis for binary mixtures was examined by recording triplicate consecutive compression-expansion cycles. The lipid miscibility and membrane stability of DPPC/imidazolium lipids were subsequently evaluated by the excess mean molecular area (ΔA^ex) and the excess Gibbs free energy (ΔG^ex) of mixing. Furthermore, the thermotropic behavior of mixed liposomes of DPPC/imidazolium lipids was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The C₁₅-imidazolium lipid (C₁₅-IMe·HI) forms a thermodynamically favored and kinetically reversible Langmuir monolayer with DPPC and exhibits a rigidification effect on both DPPC monolayer and bilayer structures at low molar fractions (X ≤ 0.3). However, the incorporation of the C₁₁-imidazolium lipid (C₁₁-IMe·HI) causes the formation of an unstable and irreversible Langmuir-Gibbs monolayer with DPPC and disordered DPPC liposomes. The C₇-imidazolium lipid (C₇-IMe·HI) displays negligible membrane activity. To better understand these results on a molecular level, all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed. The simulations yield two opposing molecular mechanisms governing the different behavior of the three imidazolium lipids: a lateral ordering effect and a free volume/stretching effect. Overall, our study provides the first evidence that the membrane interaction of the C₁₅ and C₁₁ derivatives modulates the structural organization of lipid membranes. On the contrary, for the C₇ derivative its membrane activity is too low to contribute to its earlier reported potent cytotoxicity.

Impedance analysis of complex formation equilibria in phosphatidylcholine bilayers containing decanoic acid or decylamine

Bilayer lipid membranes composed of phosphatidylcholine and decanoic acid or phosphatidylcholine and decylamine were investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Interaction between membrane components causes significant deviations from the additivity rule. Area, capacitance, and stability constant values for the complexes were calculated based on the model assuming 1:1 stoichiometry, and the model was validated by comparison of these values to experimental results. We established that phosphatidylcholine and decylamine form highly stable 1:1 complexes. In the case of decanoic acid-modified phosphatidylcholine membranes, complexes with stoichiometries other than 1:1 should be taken into consideration.

Effect of temperature on n-tetradecane emulsion in the presence of phospholipid DPPC and enzyme lipase or phospholipase A2

Zeta potentials and effective diameters of n-tetradecane emulsions in 1 M ethanol were investigated in the presence of 1,2-dipalmitoyl- sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) (1 mg/100 mL), Candida cylindracea lipase (CCL), and phospholipase PLA2 (1 mg/100 mL) at 20, 37, and 45 degrees C. The enzyme was added at the beginning of mechanical emulsion homogenization or 1 min before the end of stirring for 10 min at 10,000 rpm. It was found that DPPC decreases the negative zeta potentials at all three temperatures. The decrease was largest at 20 degrees C and smallest at 45 degrees C. The influence of the enzymes on the zeta potentials depended on the enzyme kind, time of its injection, and temperature. More negative values of the zeta potentials relative to n-C14H30/DPPC droplets were obtained if the lipase was present. Generally, the effective diameters correlate with the zeta potentials, i.e., lower zeta potential corresponds with bigger effective diameter. Possible reasons for the observed changes of the measured parameters are discussed.

The influence of fatty acids on model cholesterol/phospholipid membranes

The aim of this work was to verify the influence of the saturated (SFA) (stearic acid) and the unsaturated (UFA) (oleic and alpha-linolenic) fatty acids on model cholesterol/phospholipid membranes. The experiments were based on the Langmuir monolayer technique. Cholesterol and phospholipid were mixed in the molar ratio that corresponds to the proportion of these lipids in the majority of natural human membranes. Into the binary cholesterol/phospholipid monolayers, various amounts of fatty acids were incorporated. Our investigations were based on the analysis of the interactions between molecules in ternary (cholesterol/phospholipids/fatty acid) mixtures, however, also binary (cholesterol/fatty acid and phospholipids/fatty acid) mixed system were examined. It was concluded that the influence of the fatty acids on model cholesterol/phospholipid membrane is closely connected with the shape of the fatty acid molecule, resulting from the saturation degree of the hydrocarbon chain. It was found that the saturated fatty acid makes the model membrane more rigid, while the presence of unsaturated fatty acid increases its fluidity. The increasing amount of stearic acid gradually destabilizes model membrane, however, this effect is the weakest at low content of SFA in the mixed monolayer. Unsaturated fatty acids in a small proportion make the membrane thermodynamically more stable, while higher content of UFA decreases membrane stability. This explains low proportion of the free fatty acids to other lipids in natural membrane.

Spectroscopic Study of Lysopalmitoylphosphatidylcholine Newton Black Films

Lysopalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (LPC) black films have been studied by confocal Raman spectroscopy and their spectra analyzed and compared to their counterparts obtained from LPC in the solid state and aqueous solution. It appears that LPC is able to form stable and highly ordered black films, despite the presence of only one hydrophobic chain in this molecule. A complementary infrared study of LPC Gibbs monolayers suggests that the whole LPC polar head is perpendicular to the air/water interface. Such an orientation could explain the high order and the close packing observed in black films.

Interactions of amphotericin B derivative of low toxicity with biological membrane components—the Langmuir monolayer approach

Amphotericin B (AmB)--a polyene macrolide antibiotic--exhibits strong antifungal activity, however, is known to be very toxic to mammalian cells. In order to decrease AmB toxicity, a number of its derivatives have been synthesized. Basing on in vitro and in vivo research, it was evidenced that one of AmB derivatives, namely N-methyl-N-D-fructopyranosylamphotericin B methyl ester (in short MF-AME) retained most of the antifungal activity of the parent antibiotic, however, exhibited dramatically lower animal toxicity. Therefore, MF-AME seems to be a very promising modification product of AmB. However, further development of this derivative as potential new antifungal drug requires the elucidation of its molecular mechanism of reduced toxicity, which was the aim of the present investigations. Our studies were based on examining the binding energies by determining the strength of interaction between MF-AME and membrane sterols (ergosterol-fungi sterol, and cholesterol-mammalian sterol) and DPPC (model membrane phospholipid) using the Langmuir monolayer technique, which serves as a model of cellular membrane. Our results revealed that at low concentration the affinity of MF-AME to ergosterol is considerably stronger as compared to cholesterol, which correlates with the improved selective toxicity of this drug. It is of importance that the presence of phospholipids is essential since--due to very strong interactions between MF-AME and DPPC--the antibiotic used in higher concentration is "immobilized" by DPPC molecules, which reduces the concentration of free antibiotic, thus enabling it to selectively interact with both sterols.

Real-Time Observation for the Enzymatic Reaction of Phospholipid Membrane: Application of the Time-Resolved Quasi-Elastic Laser Scattering Method

An analytical technique to measure reactions in biological membranes was developed and applied to monitoring the hydrolysis reaction of phospholipids (dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, DPPC) by phospholipase A(2). The technique uses the time-resolved quasi-elastic laser scattering (TR-QELS) method to measure an oil/phospholipid monolayer/water membrane system by monitoring the change of interfacial tension under a noncontact condition and in real time. When the TR-QELS method is used with the newly developed oil/phospholipid monolayer/water membrane system, measurement of the hydrolysis reaction of phospholipids with long alkyl chains (C >or=16), which are the major components in biological membranes, becomes possible. The reaction progress is monitored by the increase of interfacial tension at the oil/water interface caused by the decrease of surface-active DPPC molecules due to the reaction. The characteristic phases, namely, lag, burst, and equilibrium, are observed. The relationship between the duration of the lag phase (the rate-limiting step of the reaction) and the concentration of calcium ion (an essential cofactor of the reaction) is also investigated. Increase of calcium ion concentration in the subphase is found to shorten the duration of the lag phase. In addition, the real-time measurement simplifies the estimation process for the reaction activation energy.

Dynamic Behaviors of Molecular Assemblies at Liquid/Liquid Interfaces Studied by Time-Resolved Quasi-Elastic Laser Scattering Spectroscopy

The dynamic behaviors of molecular assemblies at two immiscible liquid interfaces are intriguing topics in many fields of science and technology. However, it is generally difficult to investigate the dynamic behaviors of such molecular assemblies because of the buried nature of liquid/liquid interfaces. In the present paper, our recent investigations on dynamic behaviors of various molecular self-assemblies at liquid/liquid interfaces are reviewed. We monitored dynamic behaviors of the molecular assemblies by time-resolved quasi-elastic laser scattering (TR-QELS) and fluorescent spectroscopy. The former method allows us to monitor the change in interfacial tension with millisecond time-resolution. As molecular assemblies, bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) microemulsion, phospholipid biomembrane models, and liposome-DNA complexes have all been studied, since they are relevant in material sciences and biological technologies. At liquid/liquid interfaces, these molecular assemblies showed characteristic behaviors. We review the finding of rebound response of the interfacial tension at the liquid/liquid interface induced by the adsorption of the AOT microemulsion. We monitored the hydrolysis reaction of phospholipid biomembrane models formed at oil/water interfaces, observing the different types of behavior of liposome-DNA complexes at biomembrane models with different kinds of phospholipids.