High Resolution Membrane Structures within Hybrid Lipid‐Polymer Vesicles Revealed by Combining X‐Ray Scattering and Electron Microscopy
Small, vol. 19, pp. e2206267
Abstract
Abstract Hybrid vesicles consisting of phospholipids and block‐copolymers are increasingly finding applications in science and technology. Herein, small angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) and cryo‐electron tomography (cryo‐ET) are used to obtain detailed structural information about hybrid vesicles with different ratios of 1‐palmitoyl‐2‐oleoyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine (POPC) and poly(1,2‐butadiene‐block‐ethylene oxide) (PBd 22 ‐PEO 14 , M s = 1800 g mol −1 ). Using single particle analysis (SPA) the authors are able to further interpret the information gained from SAXS and cryo‐ET experiments, showing that increasing PBd 22 ‐PEO 14 mole fraction increases the membrane thickness from 52 Å for a pure lipid system to 97 Å for pure PBd 22 ‐PEO 14 vesicles. Two vesicle populations with different membrane thicknesses in hybrid vesicle samples are found. As these lipids and polymers are reported to homogeneously mix, bistability is inferred between weak and strong interdigitation regimes of PBd 22 ‐PEO 14 within the hybrid membranes. It is hypothesized that membranes of intermediate structure are not energetically favorable. Therefore, each vesicle exists in one of these two membrane structures, which are assumed to have comparable free energies. The authors conclude that, by combining biophysical methods, accurate determination of the influence of composition on the structural properties of hybrid membranes is achieved, revealing that two distinct membranes structures can coexist in homogeneously mixed lipid‐polymer hybrid vesicles.
Authors 10
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Affiliation as printed
School of Chemistry and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
School of Chemistry and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
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Affiliation as printed
School of Chemistry and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
School of Chemistry and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
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Affiliation as printed
School of Food Science and Nutrition School of Chemistry and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
School of Food Science and Nutrition, School of Chemistry and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
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University of California, Berkeley
Affiliation as printed
Department of Bioengineering University of California Berkeley CA 94720 USA
Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720 USA
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Affiliation as printed
School of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
School of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
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Affiliation as printed
School of Food Science and Nutrition University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
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Affiliation as printed
School of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
School of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
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Lars J. C. Jeuken Aachen
Affiliation as printed
Leiden Institute of Chemistry Leiden University PC Box 9502 Leiden 2300 RA Netherlands
Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University, PC Box 9502, Leiden, 2300 RA Netherlands
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Affiliation as printed
School of Food Science and Nutrition University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
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Paul A. Beales corresponding
Affiliation as printed
School of Chemistry and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK
School of Chemistry and Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
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