Michael Rappolt

Structural information from multilamellar liposomes at full hydration: full q-range fitting with high quality x-ray data.

We present a method for analyzing small angle x-ray scattering data on multilamellar phospholipid bilayer systems at full hydration. The method utilizes a modified Caillé theory structure factor in combination with a Gaussian model representation of the electron density profile such that it accounts also for the diffuse scattering between Bragg peaks. Thus the method can retrieve structural information even if only a few orders of diffraction are observed. We further introduce a procedure to derive fundamental parameters, such as area per lipid, membrane thickness, and number of water molecules per lipid, directly from the electron density profile without the need of additional volumetric measurements. The theoretical apparatus is applied to experimental data on 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and 1, 2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine liposome preparations.

First performance assessment of the small-angle X-ray scattering beamline at ELETTRA

The double-focusing high-flux wiggler beamline dedicated to small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) at ELETTRA has gone into user operation recently. It has been designed specifically for time-resolved studies of non-crystalline and fibrous materials in the submillisecond time scale, and has been optimized for small-angle scattering measurements. An overview of the beamline status and of some representative results, highlighting the performance of the SAXS beamline, are given.

Mechanism of the Lamellar/Inverse Hexagonal Phase Transition Examined by High Resolution X-Ray Diffraction

For the first time the electron density of the lamellar liquid crystalline as well as of the inverted hexagonal phase could be retrieved at the transition temperature. A reliable decomposition of the d-spacings into hydrophobic and hydrophilic structure elements could be performed owing to the presence of a sufficient number of reflections. While the hydrocarbon chain length, d(C), in the lamellar phase with a value of 14.5 A lies within the extreme limits of the estimated chain length of the inverse hexagonal phase 10 A < d(C) < 16 A, the changes in the hydrophilic region vary strongly. During the lamellar-to-inverse hexagonal phase transition the area per lipid molecule reduces by approximately 25%, and the number of water molecules per lipid increases from 14 to 18. On the basis of the analysis of the structural components of each phase, the interface between the coexisting mesophases between 66 and 84 degrees C has been examined in detail, and a model for the formation of the first rods in the matrix of the lamellar phospholipid stack is discussed. Judging from the structural relations between the inverse hexagonal and the lamellar phase, we suggest a cooperative chain reaction of rod formation at the transition midpoint, which is mainly driven by minimizing the interstitial region.

Structural analysis of weakly ordered membrane stacks

The applicability of full-q-range models to fit low-resolution X-ray diffraction data from multibilayers exhibiting only weak quasi-Bragg peak scattering has been analysed. The models consider different structure factors, accounting for different types of lattice disorder caused by stacking faults or bending fluctuations. Numerical tests of the models, considering instrumental influence of a line-focus collimation system, demonstrated that Bragg peak line shapes given by different lattice disorders cannot be discerned. However, line-shape parameters can be determined for a particular sample, if the type of disorder is known a priori. This has been verified by comparing the experimental results for the fluctuation parameter of palmitoyl-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine (POPC) as a function of temperature with high-resolution data on the same lipid. Tests further show that the calculation of structural parameters, such as the membrane thickness or the extent of the interbilayer water region, is not obscured by the smearing imposed by the instrument. The model was further applied successfully to experimental data of lipid mixtures composed of sphingomyelin (SM)/POPC/cholesterol and dipalmitoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE)/dipalmitoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DPPG). The structural parameters determined give valuable insight into the physical state of the membrane system, which is not accessible when quasi-Bragg reflections only are considered.

Gold-embedded photosensitive liposomes for drug delivery: triggering mechanism and intracellular release.

Liposomes embedded with gold nanoparticles show light-triggered contents release. We investigated the mechanism of the light-induced changes and functionality of the light-induced release in the cells. The real time small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis revealed time-dependent phase transitions in distearoylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC)/dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposomes upon heating. Similar changes were observed when gold nanoparticle-embedded liposomes were exposed to the UV light: gold nanoparticles absorb light energy and transfer it to heat, thereby causing lipid phase transition from gel phase to rippled phase, and further to fluid phase. Without UV light exposure the gold nanoparticles did not affect the liposomal bilayer periodicity. The light-triggered release of hydrophilic fluorescent probe (calcein) from the gold nanoparticle-loaded liposomes was demonstrated with fluorescence-activated cell sorting after liposome internalization into the ARPE-19 cells. The liposome formulations did not decrease the cell viability in vitro. In conclusion, the light-triggered release from the liposomes is functional in the cells, and the release is triggered by thermal phase changes in the lipid bilayers.

Differential Modulation of Membrane Structure and Fluctuations by Plant Sterols and Cholesterol

We have studied the concentration and temperature dependent influence of cholesterol, stigmasterol, and sitosterol on the global structure and the bending fluctuations of fluid dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine and palmitoyl oleoyl phosphatidylcholine bilayers applying small-angle x-ray scattering, as well as dilatometry and ultrasound velocimetry. Independent of the lipid matrix, cholesterol was found to be most efficient in modulating bilayer thickness and elasticity, followed by sitosterol and stigmasterol. This can be attributed to the additional ethyl groups and double bond at the C(17) alkyl side-chain of the two plant sterols. Hence, it seems that some flexibility of the sterol hydrocarbon chain is needed to accommodate within the lipid bilayer. In addition, we did not observe two populations of membranes within the putative liquid-ordered/liquid-disordered phase coexistence regime of binary sterol/lipid mixtures. Instead, the diffraction patterns could be interpreted in terms of a uniform phase. This lends further support to the idea of compositional fluctuations of unstable sterol rich domains recently brought up by fluorescence microscopy experiments, which contrasts the formation of stable domains within the miscibility gap of binary lipid/sterol mixtures.

Performance and First Results of the ELETTRA High‐Flux Beamline for Small‐Angle X‐ray Scattering

A new beamline for small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) has recently been constructed and is presently under final commissioning at the 2 GeV storage ring ELETTRA. It has been designed specifically for time-resolved studies of non-crystalline and fibrous materials and has been optimized for small-angle scattering measurements. The beamline operates with a SAXS resolution between 10 and about 1400 A in d spacing (at 8 keV) and has been optimized with respect to high flux at the sample [of the order of 1013 photons s−1 for 8 keV photons (2 GeV, 400 mA)]. Soon it will be possible to perform simultaneously wide-angle diffraction measurements in the d-spacing range 1.2–8 A (at 8 keV). In order to allow time-resolved (resolution ~1 ms) small-angle scattering measurements, a high-power 57-pole wiggler is used as the beamline source. From its beam, one of three discrete energies, 5.4, 8 and 16 keV, can be selected with a double-crystal monochromator, which contains three pairs of asymmetrically cut plane Si(111) crystals. Downstream, the beam is focused horizontally and vertically by a toroidal mirror. Commissioning tests of this new SAXS beamline showed that all design parameters have been realized.

Tuning curvature and stability of monoolein bilayers by designer lipid-like peptide surfactants.

This study reports the effect of loading four different charged designer lipid-like short anionic and cationic peptide surfactants on the fully hydrated monoolein (MO)-based Pn3m phase (Q224). The studied peptide surfactants comprise seven amino acid residues, namely A6D, DA6, A6K, and KA6. D (aspartic acid) bears two negative charges, K (lysine) bears one positive charge, and A (alanine) constitutes the hydrophobic tail. To elucidate the impact of these peptide surfactants, the ternary MO/peptide/water system has been investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), within a certain range of peptide concentrations (R≤0.2) and temperatures (25 to 70°C). We demonstrate that the bilayer curvature and the stability are modulated by: i) the peptide/lipid molar ratio, ii) the peptide molecular structure (the degree of hydrophobicity, the type of the hydrophilic amino acid, and the headgroup location), and iii) the temperature. The anionic peptide surfactants, A6D and DA6, exhibit the strongest surface activity. At low peptide concentrations (R = 0.01), the Pn3m structure is still preserved, but its lattice increases due to the strong electrostatic repulsion between the negatively charged peptide molecules, which are incorporated into the interface. This means that the anionic peptides have the effect of enlarging the water channels and thus they serve to enhance the accommodation of positively charged water-soluble active molecules in the Pn3m phase. At higher peptide concentration (R = 0.10), the lipid bilayers are destabilized and the structural transition from the Pn3m to the inverted hexagonal phase (H2) is induced. For the cationic peptides, our study illustrates how even minor modifications, such as changing the location of the headgroup (A6K vs. KA6), affects significantly the peptides effectiveness. Only KA6 displays a propensity to promote the formation of H2, which suggests that KA6 molecules have a higher degree of incorporation in the interface than those of A6K.

Impurities in Commercial Phytantriol Significantly Alter Its Lyotropic Liquid-Crystalline Phase Behavior

The lyotropic liquid-crystalline phase behavior of phytantriol is receiving increasing interest in the literature as a result of similarities with glyceryl monooleate, despite its very different molecular structure. Some differences in the phase-transition temperature for the bicontinuous cubic to reverse hexagonal phase have been reported in the literature. In this study, we have investigated the influence that the commercial source and hence the purity has on the lyotropic phase behavior of phytantriol. Suppression of the phase-transition temperatures (by up to 15 degrees C for the bicontinuous cubic to reverse hexagonal phase transition) is apparent with lower-purity phytantriol. In addition, the composition boundaries were also found to depend significantly on the source and purity of phytantriol, with the bicontinuous cubic phase + excess water boundary occurring at a water content above that reported previously (i.e., >5% higher). Both the temperature and compositional changes in phase boundaries have significant implications on the use of these materials and highlight the impact that subtle levels of impurities can play in the phase behavior of these types of materials.

Membrane-Mediated Effect on Ion Channels Induced by the Anesthetic Drug Ketamine

Anesthetic drugs have been in use for over 160 years in surgery, but their mode of action remains largely unresolved. We have studied the effect of (R)-(-)-ketamine on the biophysical properties of lipid model membranes composed of palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine by a combination of X-ray diffraction and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. In agreement with several previous studies, we do not find significant changes to the membrane thickness and lateral area per lipid up to 8 mol % ketamine content. However, we observed that the insertion of ketamine within the lipid/water interface caused significant changes of lateral pressure and a pressure shift toward the center of the bilayer. The changes are predicted to be large enough to affect the opening probability of ion channels as derived for two protein models. Depending on the protein model, we found inhibition values of IC(50) = 2 mol % and 18 mol % ketamine, corresponding to approximately 0.08 and 0.9 muM concentrations in the blood circulation, respectively. This compares remarkably well with clinical applied concentrations. We thus provide evidence for a lateral pressure mediated mode of anesthesia, first proposed more than 10 years ago.