Biophysical Characterization of Supported Lipid Bilayers Using Parallel Dual-Wavelength Surface Plasmon Resonance and Quartz Crystal Microbalance Measurements

Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) have been used extensively as an effective model of biological membranes, in the context of in vitro biophysics research, and the membranes of liposomes, in the context of the development of nanoscale drug delivery devices. Despite numerous surface-sensitive techniques having been applied to their study, the comprehensive optical characterization of SLBs using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has not been conducted. In this study, Fresnel multilayer analysis is utilized to effectively calculate layer parameters (thickness and refractive indices) with the aid of dual-wavelength and dispersion coefficient analysis, in which the linear change in the refractive index as a function of wavelength is assumed. Using complementary information from impedance-based quartz crystal microbalance experiments, biophysical properties, for example, area-per-lipid-molecule and the quantity of lipid-associated water molecules, are calculated for different lipid types and mixtures, one of which is representative of a raft-forming lipid mixture. It is proposed that the hydration layer beneath the bilayer is, in fact, an integral part of the measured optical signal. Also, the traditional Jung model analysis and the ratio of SPR responses are investigated in terms of assessing the structure of the lipid layer that is formed.

Publication year: 2018
Authors: Parkkila P. 1, Elderfi M. 2, Bunker A. 1, Viitala T. 1
Affiliations:

1 – Drug Research Program, Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
2 – Department of Cytobiochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wrocław, 50-383 Wrocław, Poland

Published in: Langmuir, 2018, Vol. 34 (27), p. 8081-8091
DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b01259

MP-SPR KEYWORDS

dual-wavelength analysis lipid conformation QCM refractive index SiO2 (silicon dioxide) sensor slide supported lipid bilayer thickness

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