Probing of the combined effect of bisquaternary ammonium antimicrobial agents and acetylsalicylic acid on model phospholipid membranes: differential scanning calorimetry and mass spectrometry studies

Abstract

A model molecular biosystem of hydrated dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayers that mimics cell biomembranes is used to probe combined membranotropic effects of drugs by instrumental techniques of molecular biophysics. Differential scanning calorimetry reveals that doping of the DPPC model membrane with individual bisquaternary ammonium compounds (BQAC) decamethoxinum, ethonium, thionium and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) leads to lowering of the membrane melting temperature (T_m) pointing to membrane fluidization. Combined application of the basic BQAC and acidic ASA causes an opposite effect on T_m (increase), corresponding to the membrane densification. Thus, modulation of the membranotropic effects upon combined use of the drugs studied can be revealed at the level of model membranes. Formation of noncovalent supramolecular complexes of the individual BQACs and ASA with DPPC molecules, which may be involved in the mechanism of the drug–membrane interaction at the molecular level, is demonstrated by electrospray ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry. In the ternary (DPPC + ASA + BQAC) model systems, the stable complexes of the BQAC dication with the ASA anion, which may be responsible for modulation of the membranotropic effects of the drugs, were recorded by ESI mass spectrometry. The proposed approach can be further developed for preliminary evaluation of the combined effects of the drugs at the level of model lipid membranes prior to tests on living organisms.