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Updated: Jun 27, 2025

Small-Scale Plasma Membrane Preparation for the Analysis of Candida albicans Cdr1-mGFPHis
Published on: June 13, 2021
How Does the Antibiotic Amphotericin B Enter Membranes and What Does It Do There?
Sebastian Janik1, Rafal Luchowski1,2, Ewa Grela1,3
1Department of Biophysics, Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, 20-031 Lublin, Poland.
Abstract:
Amphotericin B is a popular antifungal antibiotic, but the exact way it works is still a matter of debate. Here, we used monolayers composed of phosphatidylcholine with ergosterol as a model of fungal lipid membranes to study drug incorporation from the aqueous phase and analyze the molecular reorganization of membranes underlying the biological activity of the antibiotic. The results show that the internalization of antibiotic molecules into membranes occurs only in the presence of ergosterol in the lipid phase. Comparison of images of solid-supported monolayers obtained by atomic force microscopy and lifetime imaging fluorescence microscopy shows the formation of intramembrane clusters of various sizes in the lipid phase, consisting mainly of antibiotic dimers and relatively large membrane pores (∼15 nm in diameter). The results reveal multiple modes of action of amphotericin B, acting simultaneously, each of which adversely affects the structural properties of the lipid membranes and their physiological functionality.
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