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. 2020 Jul 7;10(43):25758-25762.
doi: 10.1039/d0ra03920a. eCollection 2020 Jul 3.

Thermo-driven self-assembly of a PEG-containing amphiphile in a bilayer membrane

Rui Li  1 , Takahiro Muraoka  2 , Kazushi Kinbara  1   2
Affiliations

Thermo-driven self-assembly of a PEG-containing amphiphile in a bilayer membrane

Rui Li et al. RSC Adv. .

Abstract

Self-assembly of lipid molecules in a plasma membrane, namely lipid raft formation, is involved in various dynamic functions of cells. Inspired by the raft formation observed in the cells, here we studied thermally induced self-assembly of a synthetic amphiphile, bola-AkDPA, in a bilayer membrane. The synthetic amphiphile consists of a hydrophobic unit including fluorescent aromatic and aliphatic components and hydrophilic tetraethylene glycol chains attached at both ends of the hydrophobic unit. In a polar solvent, bola-AkDPA formed aggregates to show excimer emission. In a lipid bilayer membrane, bola-AkDPA showed intensified excimer emission upon increase of its concentration or elevation of the temperature; bola-type amphiphiles containing oligoethylene glycol chains likely tend to form self-assemblies in a bilayer membrane triggered by thermal stimuli.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts to declare.

Figures

Scheme 1
Scheme 1. Molecular structure of bola-AkDPA.
Scheme 2
Scheme 2. Synthetic scheme of bola-AkDPA.
Fig. 1
Fig. 1. (a) DLS size distribution profiles of bola-AkDPA in THF (black) and water (blue) at 50 μM at 20 °C. (b) Concentration-dependent surface tension changes of bola-AkDPA in water at 20 °C. (c) UV absorption spectra of bola-AkDPA in THF (black) and water (blue) at 50 μM at 20 °C. (d) Fluorescence spectra of bola-AkDPA in mixtures of THF and water at varying ratios at 50 μM at 20 °C. Excitation: 288 nm. (e) Fluorescence intensity decay profile of bola-AkDPA in water at 20 °C. Excitation: 280 nm, emission: 380 nm. [bola-AkDPA] = 50 μM.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Phase-contrast (a, c and e) and fluorescence (b, d and f) micrographs of GUVs consisting of DOPC and bola-AkDPA in HEPES buffer at (a and b) 25, (c and d) 60 (heated), and (e and f) 25 °C (cooled). [DOPC]/[bola-AkDPA] = 90/10. [DOPC] + [bola-AkDPA] = 200 μM. Scale bars: 5.0 μm.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. (a and d) DLS size distribution profiles, (b and e) fluorescence spectra and (c and f) temperature dependent I380/I313 changes of LUVsDOPC·bola-AkDPA in HEPES buffer. [DOPC]/[bola-AkDPA] = (a–c) 99/1 and (d–f) 90/10. Red and blue arrows in (c and f) represent the directions of I380/I313 changes in the heating and cooling processes, respectively. [DOPC] + [bola-AkDPA] = 50 μM.
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