Softening of phospholipid membranes by the adhesion of silica nanoparticles--as seen by neutron spin-echo (NSE)

The interactions between nanoparticles and vesicles are of significant interest both from a fundamental as well as from a practical point of view, as vesicles can serve as a model system for cell membranes. Accordingly the effect of nanoparticles that bind to the vesicle bilayer is very important wi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nanoscale 2014-01, Vol.6 (12), p.6945-6952
Main Authors: Hoffmann, Ingo, Michel, Raphael, Sharp, Melissa, Holderer, Olaf, Appavou, Marie-Sousai, Polzer, Frank, Farago, Bela, Gradzielski, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adhesion
Adhesiveness
Adsorption
Chemical Sciences
Hardness
Lipid Bilayers - chemistry
Material chemistry
Materials Testing
Membrane Fluidity
Membranes
Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles - chemistry
Nanoparticles - ultrastructure
Nanostructure
Neutron Diffraction
or physical chemistry
Phosphatidylcholines - chemistry
Phospholipids
Silicon dioxide
Silicon Dioxide - chemistry
Styrene acrylonitrile resins
Theoretical and
Vesicles
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Summary:The interactions between nanoparticles and vesicles are of significant interest both from a fundamental as well as from a practical point of view, as vesicles can serve as a model system for cell membranes. Accordingly the effect of nanoparticles that bind to the vesicle bilayer is very important with respect to understanding their biological impact and also may shed some light on the mechanisms behind the effect of nanotoxicity. In this study we have investigated the influence of small adsorbed silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) on the structure of zwitterionic DOPC vesicles. By a combination of SANS, cryo-TEM, and DLS, we observed that the SiNPs are bound to the outer vesicle surface without significantly affecting the vesicle structure. Most interestingly, by means of neutron spin-echo (NSE) local bilayer fluctuations were studied and one finds a small but marked decrease of the membrane rigidity upon binding of the nanoparticles. This surprising finding may be a relevant aspect for the further understanding of the effects that nanoparticles have on phospholipid bilayers.
ISSN:2040-3364
2040-3372
DOI:10.1039/c4nr00774c