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Probing the perturbation of lecithin bilayers by unmodified C60 fullerenes using experimental methods and computational simulations

Probing the perturbation of lecithin bilayers by unmodified C60 fullerenes using experimental methods and computational simulations
Probing the perturbation of lecithin bilayers by unmodified C60 fullerenes using experimental methods and computational simulations
In this study, we aimed to use physicochemical and theoretical tools to understand fundamental problems of the interaction between lipid bilayers (Egg-PC liposomes) and unmodified C60 fullerenes. The morphology, the size, and the electrokinetic properties of plain and C60-loaded liposomes were investigated by means of atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and ?-potential studies, respectively. The incorporation of C60 molecules into the liposomes increases their size; however, there was no effect on their electrokinetic properties. Visualization studies revealed that the presence of C60 in the membranes induced distortion in vesicle morphology, resulting in nonspherical vesicles. To elucidate further the impact of C60 molecules on lipid bilayers, we assessed their miscibility by fluorescence spectroscopy measurements. Fluorescence measurements showed that the presence of C60 in liposomes causes a pronounced effect on the Nile red emission spectrum due to alterations to the packing of the lipid membrane. The release of vesicle-encapsulated calcein was used as a measure of the integrity of the liposomes. Plain liposomes were found to be more stable compared with C60-loaded (PC) liposomes, suggesting that C60 ruptures the liposome membrane. Toxicity studies of C60 in liposomes were carried out on cultured cells [rodent fibroblasts (3T3)] to assess further their toxicity. The results suggest that fullerene cytotoxic effect was reduced significantly after its incorporation into the liposomal bilayer after 24 h of incubation with the rodent fibroblasts (3T3). Finally, energy minimization studies were employed to underpin the experimental observations. The theoretical calculations show that low concentration of fullerene molecules present in the membrane had no effect on the membrane integrity; however, at high concentrations of fullerenes significant enlargement of the surface area is observed, supporting the experimental findings
1932-7447
3867-3874
Bouropoulos, Nikolaos
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Katsamenis, Orestis
8553e7c3-d860-4b7a-a883-abf6c0c4b438
Cox, Paul A.
eb5c4562-4843-4bc6-a95c-d06084d87c67
Norman, Simon
49470204-56d4-4ba1-b263-c026d41abbec
Kallinteri, Paraskevi
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Favretto, MarcoE.
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Yannopoulos, Spyros N.
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Bakandritsos, Aristides
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Fatouros, Dimitrios G.
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Bouropoulos, Nikolaos
fadadea1-2aa2-4cd9-a7e5-33ba790cd45f
Katsamenis, Orestis
8553e7c3-d860-4b7a-a883-abf6c0c4b438
Cox, Paul A.
eb5c4562-4843-4bc6-a95c-d06084d87c67
Norman, Simon
49470204-56d4-4ba1-b263-c026d41abbec
Kallinteri, Paraskevi
05ad3d97-d91b-4e33-9c1f-adee42206ac3
Favretto, MarcoE.
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Yannopoulos, Spyros N.
d3a66913-fb88-4d04-826c-a7c16a97354a
Bakandritsos, Aristides
dad5142e-977f-4e46-a111-137f587e44f6
Fatouros, Dimitrios G.
4a716c96-a8ba-4fbf-b3db-3b2a3a2794c4

Bouropoulos, Nikolaos, Katsamenis, Orestis, Cox, Paul A., Norman, Simon, Kallinteri, Paraskevi, Favretto, MarcoE., Yannopoulos, Spyros N., Bakandritsos, Aristides and Fatouros, Dimitrios G. (2012) Probing the perturbation of lecithin bilayers by unmodified C60 fullerenes using experimental methods and computational simulations. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 116 (6), 3867-3874. (doi:10.1021/jp206221a).

Record type: Article

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to use physicochemical and theoretical tools to understand fundamental problems of the interaction between lipid bilayers (Egg-PC liposomes) and unmodified C60 fullerenes. The morphology, the size, and the electrokinetic properties of plain and C60-loaded liposomes were investigated by means of atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and ?-potential studies, respectively. The incorporation of C60 molecules into the liposomes increases their size; however, there was no effect on their electrokinetic properties. Visualization studies revealed that the presence of C60 in the membranes induced distortion in vesicle morphology, resulting in nonspherical vesicles. To elucidate further the impact of C60 molecules on lipid bilayers, we assessed their miscibility by fluorescence spectroscopy measurements. Fluorescence measurements showed that the presence of C60 in liposomes causes a pronounced effect on the Nile red emission spectrum due to alterations to the packing of the lipid membrane. The release of vesicle-encapsulated calcein was used as a measure of the integrity of the liposomes. Plain liposomes were found to be more stable compared with C60-loaded (PC) liposomes, suggesting that C60 ruptures the liposome membrane. Toxicity studies of C60 in liposomes were carried out on cultured cells [rodent fibroblasts (3T3)] to assess further their toxicity. The results suggest that fullerene cytotoxic effect was reduced significantly after its incorporation into the liposomal bilayer after 24 h of incubation with the rodent fibroblasts (3T3). Finally, energy minimization studies were employed to underpin the experimental observations. The theoretical calculations show that low concentration of fullerene molecules present in the membrane had no effect on the membrane integrity; however, at high concentrations of fullerenes significant enlargement of the surface area is observed, supporting the experimental findings

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e-pub ahead of print date: 18 January 2012
Published date: February 2012
Organisations: Engineering Mats & Surface Engineerg Gp, Bioengineering Group

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 337801
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/337801
ISSN: 1932-7447
PURE UUID: 326476fa-1360-4c73-8b9f-a8e76c20df28
ORCID for Orestis Katsamenis: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4367-4147

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Date deposited: 04 May 2012 10:17
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:38

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Contributors

Author: Nikolaos Bouropoulos
Author: Paul A. Cox
Author: Simon Norman
Author: Paraskevi Kallinteri
Author: MarcoE. Favretto
Author: Spyros N. Yannopoulos
Author: Aristides Bakandritsos
Author: Dimitrios G. Fatouros

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