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Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging and Force Spectroscopy of Supported Lipid Bilayers

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Analysis of Trisiloxane Phosphocholine Bilayers.

Mark B Frampton¹, Drew Marquardt^2,3, Ilse Letofsky-Papst⁴

¹Department of Chemistry and Centre for Biotechnology, Brock University , St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada.

Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids

|May 5, 2017

Summary

Unique siloxane phosphocholines spontaneously form stable, monodisperse vesicles in water. These self-assembling structures simplify vesicle preparation for various applications.

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Supramolecular Chemistry
Biophysical Chemistry

Background:

Phospholipids are key components of biological membranes.
Designing synthetic lipids with unique properties is crucial for advanced applications.
Siloxane-based materials offer distinct chemical and physical characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

To synthesize novel siloxane phosphocholine amphiphiles.
To characterize the self-assembly behavior of these novel lipids in aqueous solution.
To investigate the structural properties of the formed aggregates.

Main Methods:

Synthesis of siloxane phosphocholine compounds.
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) for structural analysis.
Vesicle characterization in aqueous media.

Main Results:

Siloxane phosphocholines self-assemble into nearly monodisperse unilamellar vesicles.
Vesicle formation occurs spontaneously without requiring extrusion methods.
Key structural parameters like area/lipid, lipid volume, and bilayer thickness were quantified via SAXS.

Conclusions:

Siloxane phosphocholines are capable of forming stable, well-defined vesicles.
The unique structure of these lipids drives spontaneous vesicle formation.
These findings open avenues for using siloxane phosphocholines in drug delivery and biomaterials.