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Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy

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Membrane Phase Transitions in Lipid-Wrapped Nanoparticles.

David Stelter¹, Tom Keyes¹

¹Department of Chemistry, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B

|March 29, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

We developed a Landau theory for the gel/fluid transition in lipid-wrapped nanoparticles (LNPs). Curvature and core-lipid interactions significantly alter transition temperatures and layer behavior, matching experimental trends.

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Area of Science:

Soft Matter Physics
Materials Science
Biophysics

Background:

Lipid bilayers exhibit gel/fluid phase transitions crucial for membrane function.
Lipid-wrapped nanoparticles (LNPs) present unique curvature effects not seen in bulk lamellar membranes.
Understanding these transitions is key to LNP applications in drug delivery and biomaterials.

Purpose of the Study:

To construct a Landau theory for the gel/fluid transition in LNPs.
To investigate the influence of nanoparticle core radius (curvature) and core-lipid interactions on the transition.
To reproduce and explain experimental observations in LNP systems.

Main Methods:

Developed a Landau theory modeling the bilayer as a regular solution of gel and fluid lipids.
Incorporated distinct inter- and intralayer interactions, including core-lipid interactions.
Minimized free energy to find equilibrium states, considering lipid area differences and curvature effects.

Main Results:

Reproduces experimental trends: decreasing transition temperature (T_m) with decreasing core radius (R).
Demonstrates decoupling of gel/fluid transitions between inner and outer lipid layers.
Shows the possibility of a lower T_m in the inner layer compared to the outer layer.

Conclusions:

Nanoparticle curvature significantly disrupts gel packing, altering transition behavior.
Core-lipid interactions are critical determinants of deviations from bulk lipid behavior in LNPs.
The model successfully explains key experimental observations in LNP phase transitions.