Structural and Mechanical Response of Two-Component Photoswitchable Lipid Bilayer Vesicles

Optical control of phospholipids is an attractive option for the rapid, reversible, and tunable manipulation of membrane structure and dynamics. Azo-PC, a lipid with an azobenzene group within one acyl chain, undergoes a light-induced trans-to-cis isomerization and thus arises as a powerful tool for manipulating lipid order and dynamics. Here, we report on vesicle-scale micropipette measurements and atomistic simulations to probe the elastic stretching modulus, water permeability, toughness, thickness, and membrane area upon isomerization. We investigated both dynamics and steady-state properties. In pure azo-PC membranes, we found that the molecular area in trans was 16% smaller than that in cis, the membrane's stretching modulus k_A was 2.5 ± 0.3 times greater, and the water permeability P_W was 3.5 ± 0.5 times smaller. We also studied mixtures of azo-PC with the miscible, unsaturated lipid DOPC. Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations show how the membrane thickness, chain order, and correlations across membrane leaflets explain the experimental data. Together, these data show how one rotating bond changes the molecular- and membrane-scale properties. These results will be useful for photopharmacology and for developing new materials whose permeability, elasticity, and toughness may be switched on demand.