Structure of sodium and rubidium taurodeoxycholate micellar aggregates and their interaction complexes with bilirubin-IX.alpha

Physiology and Physical Chemistry of Bile Acids

Bile acids (BAs) are facial amphiphiles synthesized in the body of all vertebrates. They undergo the enterohepatic circulation: they are produced in the liver, stored in the gallbladder, released in the intestine, taken into the bloodstream and lastly re-absorbed in the liver. During this pathway, BAs are modified in their molecular structure by the action of enzymes and bacteria. Such transformations allow them to acquire the chemical-physical properties needed for fulling several activities including metabolic regulation, antimicrobial functions and solubilization of lipids in digestion. The versatility of BAs in the physiological functions has inspired their use in many bio-applications, making them important tools for active molecule delivery, metabolic disease treatments and emulsification processes in food and drug industries. Moreover, moving over the borders of the biological field, BAs have been largely investigated as building blocks for the construction of supramolecular aggregates having peculiar structural, mechanical, chemical and optical properties. The review starts with a biological analysis of the BAs functions before progressively switching to a general overview of BAs in pharmacology and medicine applications. Lastly the focus moves to the BAs use in material science.

Crystal structure of a lithium salt of a glucosyl derivative of lithocholic acid

The crystal structure of a Li(+) salt of a glucosyl derivative of lithocholic acid (lithium 3α-(α-d-glucopyranosyl)-5β-cholan-24-oate) has been solved. The crystal belongs to the orthorhombic system, P212121 spatial group, and includes acetone and water in the structure with a 1:1:2 stoichiometry. Monolayers, having a hydrophobic interior and hydrophilic edges, are recognized in the crystal structure. Li(+) is coordinated to three hydroxyl groups of three different glucose residues, with two of them belonging to the same monolayer. A fourth molecule, located in this monolayer, is involved in the coordination of the cation through the carboxylate ion by an electrostatic interaction, thus completing a distorted tetrahedron. All Li(+)-oxygen distances values are very close to the sum of the ionic radius of Li(+) and van der Waals radius of oxygen. Each steroid molecule is linked to other five steroid molecules through hydrogen bonds. Water and acetone are also involved in the hydrogen bond network. A hierarchical organization can be recognized in the crystal, the helical assembly along 21 screw axes being left-handed.

Chiral Cyclobutane β-Amino Acid-Based Amphiphiles: Influence of Cis/Trans Stereochemistry on Solution Self-Aggregation and Recognition

Novel diastereomeric anionic amphiphiles based on the rigid cyclobutane β-amino acid scaffold have been synthesized and deeply investigated with the aim of generating new functional supramolecular architectures on the basis of the rational design of original amphiphilic molecules and the control of their self-assembly. The main interest has been focused on the effect that cis/trans stereochemistry exerts on their molecular organization and recognition. In diluted solutions, the relative stereochemistry mainly influences the headgroup solvation and anionic-charge stabilization, i.e., better stabilized in the cis diastereoisomer due to intramolecular hydrogen-bonding and/or charge-dipole interactions. This provokes differences in their physicochemical behavior (pKa, cmc, conductivity) as well as in the structural parameters of the spherical micelles formed. Although both diastereoisomers form fibers that evolve with time from the spherical micelles, they display markedly different morphology and kinetics of formation. In the lyotropic liquid crystal domain, the greatest differences are observed at the highest concentrations and can be ascribed to different hydrogen-bonding and molecular packing imposed by the stereochemical constraints. Remarkably, the spherical micelles of the two anionic surfactants show dramatically diverse enantioselection ability for bilirubin enantiomers. In addition, both the surfactants form heteroaggregates with bilirubin at submicellar concentrations but with a different expression of supramolecular chirality. This points out that the unlike relative configuration of the two surfactants influences their chiral recognition ability as well as the fashion in which chirality is expressed at the supramolecular level by controlling the molecular organization in both micellar aggregates and surfactant/bilirubin heteroaggregates. All these differential features can be appropriate and useful for the design and development of new soft materials with predictable and tunable properties and reveal the cyclobutane motif as a valuable scaffold for the preparation of new amphiphiles.

Metastable and equilibrium phase diagrams of unconjugated bilirubin IXα as functions of pH in model bile systems: Implications for pigment gallstone formation

Metastable and equilibrium phase diagrams for unconjugated bilirubin IXα (UCB) in bile are yet to be determined for understanding the physical chemistry of pigment gallstone formation. Also, UCB is a molecule of considerable biomedical importance because it is a potent antioxidant and an inhibitor of atherogenesis. We employed principally a titrimetric approach to obtain metastable and equilibrium UCB solubilities in model bile systems composed of taurine-conjugated bile salts, egg yolk lecithin (mixed long-chain phosphatidylcholines), and cholesterol as functions of total lipid concentration, biliary pH values, and CaCl2 plus NaCl concentrations. Metastable and equilibrium precipitation pH values were obtained, and average pKa values of the two carboxyl groups of UCB were calculated. Added lecithin and increased temperature decreased UCB solubility markedly, whereas increases in bile salt concentrations and molar levels of urea augmented solubility. A wide range of NaCl and cholesterol concentrations resulted in no specific effects, whereas added CaCl2 produced large decreases in UCB solubilities at alkaline pH values only. UV-visible absorption spectra were consistent with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions between UCB and bile salts that were strongly influenced by pH. Reliable literature values for UCB compositions of native gallbladder biles revealed that biles from hemolytic mice and humans with black pigment gallstones are markedly supersaturated with UCB and exhibit more acidic pH values, whereas biles from nonstone control animals and patients with cholesterol gallstone are unsaturated with UCB.

Cesium cholate: determination of X-ray crystal structure indicates participation of the ring hydroxyl groups in metal binding

The crystal structure of cesium cholate, C(24)H(36)(OH)(3) COOCs has been determined with three-dimensional X-ray diffractometer data. It crystallized in the monoclinic space group P2(1) with unit-cell dimensions a = 11.543(5) A, b = 8.614(3) A, and c = 12.662(5) A, beta(deg) = 107.95(2), V = 1197.7 A(3) and Z = 2. The atomic parameters were refined to a final r = 0.0269 and R(omega) = 0.0280 for 2342 observed reflections. Each Cs(+) is coordinated to 7 oxygen atoms from 5 different cholate anions with Cs-O distances ranging from 2.957(4) A to 3.678(5) A. In this crystal, 5 cholates are coordinated with 1 Cs(+), and 5 Cs(+) are coordinated with 1 cholate anion. Carboxyl and all the 3 ring hydroxyl groups of cholate anion participate in binding to Cs(+) simultaneously, and there is no water molecule coordinated with the Cs(+). The pattern of successive rows arranged with polar (p) and non-polar (n) faces in apposition leads to the formation of a sandwich sheet structure with polar and non-polar channels. The Cs ions lie within the polar interior of the sandwich. The H-bond network is reorganized in forming cesium cholate from cholic acid. All the oxygen atoms in cholate anion are involved in H-bonding reciprocally or with water molecules to form an extensive 3-dimensional network of H-bonds. Compared with cholic acid and other similar type of steroids, the coordination structure and H-bonding of Cs cholate crystal are distinct.

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography of tri aza aromatic ligand compounds of iron (II): influence of bile salt type on enantiomeric separation

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography is used with a variety of bile salt micelles to separate the enantiomers of bis(8-((pyridine-2-methylene)amino)quinoline)iron(II) hexafluorophosphate, Fe(PMAQ)2(PF6)2; bis(8-((pyridine-2-methylene)amino)lepidine iron(II) hexafluorophosphate, Fe(PMAL)2(PF6)2; and bis(1-(2-pyridinyl)ethylidine)-8-aminoquinoline iron(II) hexafluorophosphate, Fe(PEAQ)2(PF6)2. The influence of ten different bile salts on the resolution of each pair of enantiomers is investigated. Significant changes in resolution are seen depending upon the bile salt used. The dihydroxy bile salts are superior to the trihydroxy bile salts in terms of resolution, and the taurine or glycine conjugated bile salts yield better results than the unconjugated bile salts. Resolution for most enantiomers is maximized in a buffer solution containing 10-15% acetone and employing either taurochenodeoxycholic or glycochenodeoxycholic acid as the bile salt. Evidence for the separation of the corresponding Fe(III) complexes is presented.

Acid dissociation constants of bilirubin and related carboxylic acid compounds in bile salt solutions

Bilirubin, the yellow-orange tetrapyrrole pigment of jaundice, is essentially insoluble in pure water, but is much more soluble in solutions of bile salts such as sodium taurocholate. The biophysical chemistry of bilirubin in bile salt solutions is affected by changes in the pH of the solution in the range 5-9, suggesting that interactions with bile salt molecules and micelles may alter the acidity of the pigment. We have examined this possibility by determining the apparent pKa values for a series of carboxyl 13C-enriched model compounds, including the bilirubin analog mesobilirubin XIIIalpha, in solutions of sodium taurocholate and sodium taurodeoxycholate. Apparent pKa values were determined by 13C NMR titrations in dimethyl sulfoxide-water mixtures. The results show that the acidity of all compounds is decreased, or pKa increased, in micellar bile salt solution relative to pure water and that the effect is greatest for the larger, less water-soluble compounds. We have proposed a model to explain these results and discussed the implications of these findings for the biophysical chemistry of bilirubin in bile.

Measurement of bilirubin partition coefficients in bile salt micelle/aqueous buffer solutions by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

The partition coefficients for the distribution of bilirubin between aqueous phosphateborate buffer and cholic, taurocholic, taurodeoxycholic, and taurochenodeoxycholic micelles have been measured by micellar electrokinetic chromatography at pH 8.5. Determination of the partition coefficients required that the critical micelle concentration and partial specific volumes be determined for each bile salt. Critical micelle concentrations were slightly higher for the trihydroxy bile salts. Partial specific volumes of the bile salt micelles differed very little from each other, and for each bile salt they were constant over the concentration range studied, which was typically from slightly above the critical micelle concentration to 35 mM. Capacity factors were corrected for the effects of applied voltage by extrapolation of the capacity factor to zero applied volts. The free solution mobility of bilirubin, determined in the absence of bile salt, was also corrected for the effects of applied voltage. Plots of extrapolated capacity factor versus phase ratio yield the partition coefficient as the slope of a linear fit to the data. Partition coefficients for bilirubin were significantly higher for dihydroxy bile salts than for trihydroxy bile salts.

Bile salt micellar electrokinetic chromatography of bilirubin and related compounds

The interaction of bilirubin, biliverdin, bilirubin dimethyl ester, biliverdin dimethyl ester, xanthobilirubic acid, and xanthobilirubin methyl ester with trihydroxy and dihydroxy bile salt solutions is investigated by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). The capacity factor of each compound is measured in solutions of the different bile salts over the pH range of 6.5-9.0. The capacity factor of bilirubin increases with pH below 7 in all bile salt solutions. Biliverdin and xanthobilirubin show essentially identical capacity factors for all bile salts. Biliverdin dimethyl ester and xanthobilirubin methyl ester also have very similar capacity factors, which are greater than those of the carboxy analogs, in trihydroxy bile salts. The capacity factors of these esters are higher in the dihydroxy bile salts, with the capacity factor of biliverdin dimethyl ester being twice that of xanthobilirubin methyl ester. Factors involved in the MEKC analysis of these compounds are discussed.

Aggregation behavior of bile salts in aqueous solution

Freezing point depression, delta T/k, and pNa are measured and analyzed for aqueous solutions of trihydroxy (NaTC) and dihydroxy (NaDC and NaTDC) bile salts. The results show the existence of break points in the plot of delta T/k vs molality at 0.018, 0.013, and 0.007 m, respectively, in good agreement with previous published critical micelle concentration values. Above the break point bile salts form aggregates with average aggregation numbers of 2.59 +/- 0.12 (NaTC), 5.82 +/- 0.04 (NaDC), and 5.42 +/- 0.47 (NaTDC). Fractions of bound counterions are also deduced, being close to 0.3 for the three bile salts studied. This indicates that only one counterion is bound for every three monomers in the aggregate. The different structural models published for the bile salt aggregates are discussed.