Abstract
We investigated the influence of an n-alkyl-PEO polymer on the structure and dynamics of phospholipid vesicles. Multilayer formation and about a 9% increase in the size in vesicles were observed by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and small-angle neutron/X-ray scattering (SANS/SAXS). The results indicate a change in the lamellar structure of the vesicles by a partial disruption caused by polymer chains, which seems to correlate with about a 30% reduction in bending rigidity per unit bilayer, as revealed by neutron spin echo (NSE) spectroscopy. Also, a strong change in lipid tail relaxation was observed. Our results point to opportunities using synthetic polymers to control the structure and dynamics of membranes, with possible applications in technical materials and also in drug and nutraceutical delivery.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2362-2375 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Langmuir |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 23 2021 |
Funding
The neutron-scattering work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under EPSCoR grant no. DE-SC0012432 with additional support from the Louisiana Board of Regents. Access to the neutron spin echo spectrometer and small-angle scattering instruments was provided by the Center for High-Resolution Neutron Scattering, a partnership between the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation under agreement no. DMR-1508249. Research conducted at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was sponsored by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. DOE. We thank Lin Yang and Shirish Chodankar from the 16-ID, LIX beamline at National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) II. The LiX beamline is part of the Life Science Biomedical Technology Research resource, primarily supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under grant P41 GM111244, and by the Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research under grant KP1605010, with additional support from NIH grant S10 OD012331. As an NSLS II facility resource at Brookhaven National Laboratory, work performed at Life Science and Biomedical Technology Research is supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences Program under contract DE-SC0012704. We thank Thomas Weiss from BL 4-2 at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource for assisting with SAXS experiments. Use of the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under contract no. DE-AC02-76SF00515. The SSRL Structural Molecular Biology Program is supported by the DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research and by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (including P41GM103393). The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIGMS or NIH. We acknowledge Gina Guillory (past undergraduate researcher) for assisting with preliminary experiments. We also specially acknowledge Jiabo He at Tulane University for assisting with cryo-TEM experiments. Certain trade names and company products are identified in order to specify adequately the experimental procedure. In no case does such identification imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology nor does it imply that the products are necessarily the best for the purpose. This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government, nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed or represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research | KP1605010 |
| Life Science Biomedical Technology Research | |
| Office of Basic Energy Sciences Program | DE-SC0012704 |
| Scientific User Facilities Division | |
| National Science Foundation | DMR-1508249 |
| National Institutes of Health | S10 OD012331 |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| National Institute of General Medical Sciences | P41 GM111244, P41GM103393 |
| National Institute of Standards and Technology | |
| Office of Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research | DE-SC0012432 |
| Office of Science | DE-AC02-76SF00515 |
| Basic Energy Sciences | |
| Biological and Environmental Research | |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory | |
| Louisiana Board of Regents |