Binding of lipophilic cations to the liposomal membrane: thermodynamic analysis

Lipophilic ions are widely used as probes for measuring membrane potentials. Since binding of the probes to the membrane interferes with the accurate estimation of the membrane potential, it is necessary to clarify the characteristics of probe binding to membranes. The present paper deals with the binding of lipophilic cations to liposomes. The results can be summarized as follows: (1) The binding of triphenylmethylphosphonium, its homologues and tetraphenylphosphonium to liposomes of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. (2) Spin-labeled lipophilic cations were synthesized and the binding to liposomes of egg phosphatidylcholine was examined. The binding also followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The dissociation constant (the concentration giving half-maximal binding), K, was independent of the temperature, indicating that the binding is entropy-driven. (3) The binding was influenced by the fluidity of the membrane. Except in the case of triphenylmethylphosphonium (TPMP+), K and A (maximum amounts of binding) increased above the transition temperature. In other words, above the phase transition temperature the binding affinity is decreased, while maximum amounts of binding are increased for all phosphoniums used except TPMP+.