Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 2, 2025

Detergent-free Ultrafast Reconstitution of Membrane Proteins into Lipid Bilayers Using Fusogenic Complementary-charged Proteoliposomes.
11:10

Detergent-free Ultrafast Reconstitution of Membrane Proteins into Lipid Bilayers Using Fusogenic Complementary-charged Proteoliposomes.

Published on: April 5, 2018

11.6K

Amphiphilic ionic liquid induced fusion of phospholipid liposomes

Sandeep Kumar1, Navleen Kaur, Venus Singh Mithu

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar-143005, India. venus.chem@gndu.ac.in.

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP
|November 2, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Ionic liquids cause vesicle fusion by disrupting lipid bilayers, leading to dye leakage. This fusion mechanism involves phospholipid chain splaying, crucial for overcoming hydration barriers.

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Materials Science
  • Physical Chemistry

Background:

  • Large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) are model systems for cell membranes.
  • Ionic liquids are tunable solvents with potential applications in membrane science.
  • Understanding ionic liquid interactions with lipid bilayers is crucial for various applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of imidazolium-based ionic liquids on the structural integrity of phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) LUVs.
  • To elucidate the mechanism of ionic liquid-induced membrane fusion.
  • To correlate ionic liquid concentration with vesicle permeability and fusion.

Main Methods:

  • Calcein dye leakage assays to measure LUV permeability.
  • Dynamic light scattering (DLS) for vesicle size analysis.
  • Fluorescence-based lipid mixing assays to confirm vesicle fusion.
  • Solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy (1H-1H NOESY) to study the fusion mechanism.

Main Results:

  • Increasing ionic liquid concentration induced vesicle fusion, leading to dye leakage.
  • Vesicle fusion was confirmed by DLS and lipid mixing assays.
  • Solid-state NMR revealed ionic liquid-induced splaying of phospholipid chains, overcoming the hydration barrier.
  • POPC LUVs showed higher susceptibility to fusion, while POPG LUVs exhibited a greater overall extent of fusion.

Conclusions:

  • Imidazolium-based ionic liquids promote LUV fusion at concentrations near the critical micelle value.
  • Membrane fusion is mediated by the disruption and splaying of phospholipid chains.
  • The study provides insights into the mechanism of ionic liquid-membrane interactions and vesicle fusion.

More Related Videos

SNARE-mediated Fusion of Single Proteoliposomes with Tethered Supported Bilayers in a Microfluidic Flow Cell Monitored by Polarized TIRF Microscopy10:58

SNARE-mediated Fusion of Single Proteoliposomes with Tethered Supported Bilayers in a Microfluidic Flow Cell Monitored by Polarized TIRF Microscopy

Published on: August 24, 2016

11.2K
On-Chip Octanol-Assisted Liposome Assembly for Bioengineering09:45

On-Chip Octanol-Assisted Liposome Assembly for Bioengineering

Published on: March 17, 2023

3.2K

Related Concept Videos

SNAREs and Membrane Fusion01:43

SNAREs and Membrane Fusion

Once a transport vesicle has recognized its target organelle, the vesicular membrane needs to fuse with the target membrane to unload the cargo. Transmembrane proteins called SNAREs present on organelle membranes and their vesicles, mediate vesicle fusion.
SNAREs exist in pairs that symmetrically interact and catalyze the fusion of the lipid bilayers in vesicle and target organelle. v-SNARE in the vesicle membrane are single polypeptide chains that bind to a complementary t-SNARE, composed of 2...
11.9K
What are Lipids?01:38

What are Lipids?

Overview
216.6K
Membrane Fluidity01:26

Membrane Fluidity

Membrane fluidity is explained by the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane, which describes the plasma membrane structure as a mosaic of components—including phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates—that gives the membrane a fluid character.
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is...
13.9K
Membrane Fluidity01:23

Membrane Fluidity

Cell membranes are composed of phospholipids, proteins, and carbohydrates loosely attached to one another through chemical interactions. Molecules are generally able to move about in the plane of the membrane, giving the membrane its flexible nature called fluidity. Two other features of the membrane contribute to membrane fluidity: the chemical structure of the phospholipids and the presence of cholesterol in the membrane.
169.2K
Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane01:26

Fusion of Secretory Vesicles with the Plasma Membrane

Proteins and neurotransmitters in secretory vesicles can be released from a cell upon vesicle docking, priming, and fusion with the plasma membrane. Vesicles are docked and primed in preparation for the quick exocytosis of their contents in response to a stimulus. The fusion process is mainly carried out by a SNAP Receptor or SNARE complex, consisting of synaptobrevin, syntaxin-1, and SNAP-25.
In 1993, Jim Rothman proposed that the antiparallel pairing of vesicular and transmembrane SNAREs, or...
16.2K
Phosphoinositides and PIPs01:42

Phosphoinositides and PIPs

Phosphoinositides are a group of phospholipids containing a glycerol backbone with two fatty acid chains and a phosphate attached to a myoinositol sugar ring. The inositol head group extends into the cytoplasm, where it is modified by adding phosphate groups to form phosphatidylinositol phosphates or PIPs.
Different phosphoinositides are synthesized and recruited on the cytosolic face of the plasma membrane. The localization of specific phosphoinositides concentrated in separate membrane...
9.8K