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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Self-Assembly of Hybrid Lipid Membranes Doped with Hydrophobic Organic Molecules at the Water/Air Interface
Published on: May 1, 2020
Lipopolysaccharides and peptidoglycans modulating the interaction of Au naparticles with cell membranes models at the
Rafael Leonardo Cruz Gomes da Silva1, Heloiza Fernanda Oliveira da Silva2, Luiz Henrique da Silva Gasparotto2
1Department of Chemistry, Federal University of São Paulo, Diadema, SP, Brazil.
Abstract:
Understanding the interactions between nanoparticles and biological surfaces is of great importance for many areas of nanomedicine and calls for detailed studies at the molecular level using simplified models of cellular membranes. In this paper, water-dispersed polyvinylpyrrolidonestabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were incorporated in floating monolayers of selected lipids at the air-water interface as cell membrane models. Surface pressure-area isotherms showed the condensation of glycoside-free lipid monolayers, suggesting their adsorption on the nanoparticle surface through the hydrophilic head groups. On the other hand, monolayers containing glycoside derivatives expanded upon AuNPs incorporation, pointing that the supramolecular structure formed should facilitate the incorporation of these nanoparticles in cellular membranes. These findings can be therefore correlated with the possible toxicity, microbicide and antitumorigenic effects of these nanoparticles in lipidic surfaces of erythrocyte and microbial membranes.
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