Issue 11, 2014

Calcium-mediated binding of DNA to 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine-containing mixed lipid monolayers

Abstract

The calcium-mediated interaction of DNA with monolayers of the non-toxic, zwitterionic phospholipid, 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine when mixed with 50 mol% of a second lipid, either the zwitteronic 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine or neutral cholesterol was investigated using a combination of surface pressure-area isotherms, Brewster angle microscopy, external reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and specular neutron reflectivity in combination with contrast variation. When calcium and DNA were both present in the aqueous subphase, changes were observed in the compression isotherms as well as the surface morphologies of the mixed lipid monolayers. In the presence of calcium and DNA, specular neutron reflectivity showed that directly underneath the head groups of the lipids comprising the monolayers, DNA occupied a layer comprising approximately 13 and 18% v/v DNA for the 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine and cholesterol-containing monolayers, respectively. The volume of the corresponding layer for 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine only containing monolayers was ∼15% v/v DNA. Furthermore regardless of the presence and nature of the second lipid and the surface pressure of the monolayer, the specular neutron reflectivity experiments showed that the DNA-containing layer was 20–27 Å thick, suggesting the presence of a well-hydrated layer of double-stranded DNA. External reflectance Fourier transform infrared studies confirmed the presence of double stranded DNA, and indicated that the strands are in the B-form conformation. The results shed light on the interaction between lipids and nucleic acid cargo as well as the role of a second lipid in lipid-based carriers for drug delivery.

Graphical abstract: Calcium-mediated binding of DNA to 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine-containing mixed lipid monolayers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
30 Oct 2013
Accepted
06 Jan 2014
First published
07 Jan 2014

Soft Matter, 2014,10, 1685-1695

Calcium-mediated binding of DNA to 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine-containing mixed lipid monolayers

A. P. Dabkowska, D. J. Barlow, L. A. Clifton, A. V. Hughes, J. R. P. Webster, R. J. Green, P. J. Quinn and M. J. Lawrence, Soft Matter, 2014, 10, 1685 DOI: 10.1039/C3SM52747F

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