Importance of Cholesterol Side Chain in the Membrane Stability of Human Erythrocytes.

Cholesterol suppresses the hemolysis and the detachment of cytoskeletal proteins from bilayer in the human erythrocyte membrane under stress conditions. However, there is little information on how cholesterol functions. So, examining the role of a short side chain of cholesterol, we used the plant sterols such as β-sitosterol and stigmasterol.

Membrane perturbations induced by the interactions of zinc ions with band 3 in human erythrocytes.

Of group 12 metals, zinc is an essential element to maintain our life, but other metals such as cadmium and mercury are toxic in cellular activities. Interactions of these metals with biomembranes are important to understand their effects on our living cells. Here, we describe the membrane perturbations induced by these metals in human erythrocytes.

Membrane damages under high pressure of human erythrocytes agglutinated by concanavalin A.

Human erythrocytes are agglutinated by lectins such as concanavalin A (Con A). The behaviors of agglutinated erythrocytes under pressure are less well understood. Here, we report the effects of erythrocyte agglutination on pressure-induced membrane damages.

Behavior of the amphiphile CHAPS alone and in combination with the biopolymer inulin in water and isopropanol-water media.

Self-aggregation of the zwitterionic surfactant 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS) in water and isopropanol-water media, and interaction of the amphiphile with the biopolymer inulin in these media were investigated. The micellar properties of the zwitterionic surfactant and its associated interfacial and bulk properties along with the related energetic, and aggregation number were determined. The different stages of interaction of the CHAPS-inulin combines were identified and assessed.

A review of recent studies on aqueous binary mixed surfactant systems.

Recent studies on mixed surfactant systems were systematically overviewed, paying special attention to synergism observed in micellization as well as adsorbed film formation upon mixing of a few nonionic surfactants with a variety of surfactants (such as anionics including bile salts and a hybrid type surfactant, cationics including a Gemini type surfactant, different types of nonionics and a zwitterionic surfactant used as a membrane solubilizer) in addition to various combinations of anionics. Through the text, it was shown for each given binary mixed system composed of surfactants 1 and 2 how to estimate not only the composition of mixed micelles (Y(2)) equilibrated with singly dispersed surfactant species in bulk solution phase, where the mole fraction of 2 in the surfactant mixture is denoted as X(2), but also the composition of adsorbed film phase (Z(2)). Almost all combinations were discussed in terms of the respective interaction parameters, omega(R) and omega(A), in mixed micelles (3-D phase) and in mixed adsorbed film (2-D phase), respectively, surface excess concentration (Gamma), partial molecular area (PMA), minimum surface Gibbs energy (G(s)min), and such defined measures as pC(20), CMC/C(20) etc.

Blending effects on adsorption and micellization of different membrane protein solubilizers II. A thermodynamic study on a mixed system of CHAPS with a bile salt in pH 7.4 phosphate buffer solution.

For a mixed system of a typical membrane protein solubilizer CHAPS (a derivative of a bile acid cholic acid) combined with a bile salt (sodium salt of glycocholic acid, NaGC), which is also a candidate as a membrane protein solubilizer, micellization and adsorbed film formation in a phosphate buffer solution of pH 7.4 at 303 K were studied paying special attention to the synergistic effect upon mixing. The collection of sufficient data based on plots of surface tension (gamma) versus logarithmic concentration (C(t) or m(t)) in total molality at discrete mole fractions (X(2)) in the mixture of surfactants 1 and 2 (where 1 and 2 correspond to CHAPS and NaGC, respectively) allowed us to accurately determine critical micelle concentration (CMC), minimum surface tension at CMC (gamma(CMC)), and the slope (dgamma/dlnC(t)) from the gamma-lnC(t) curves in the concentration range just below CMC.

Monolayers (Langmuir films) behavior of multi-component systems composed of a bile acid with different sterols and with their 1:1 mixtures.

Different physicochemical properties of Langmuir films (monolayers) composed of 10 mixed systems of a bile acid, deoxycholic acid (DC) with various plant sterols, such as stigmasterol (Stig), beta-sitosterol (Sito) and campesterol (Camp) and a stanol, cholestanol (Chsta) in addition to an animal sterol, cholesterol (Ch) [these sterols and Chsta are abbreviated as St] and DC with 1:1 St mixtures; (Ch+Chsta), (Ch+Stig), (Stig+Chsta), (Ch+Sito) and (Ch+Camp) on the substrate of 5M aqueous NaCl solution (pH 1.2) at 25 degrees C, were investigated in terms of mean surface area per molecule (A(m)), the partial molecular area (PMA), surface excess Gibbs energy (DeltaG((ex))), interaction parameter (I(p)) as well as activity coefficients (f(1) and f(2)) in 2-D phase of each binary (or ternary) component system and elasticity (Cs(-1)) of formed films; these were analyzed on the basis of the respective surface pressure (pi) versus A(m) isotherms as a function of mole fraction of Sts (X(st)) in the DC/St(s) mixtures at discrete surface pressures. Notable findings are: (i) all the binary component systems did form patched film type monolayers consisting of (a) DC-dominant film solubilizing a trace amount of St molecules and (b) St dominant film dissolving a small amount of DC molecules, (ii) DC in 2-D phase exhibited a transition from LE film to LC film at a constant pressure (pi(C)(1)) accompanied by compression and (iii) DeltaG((ex)) as well as I(p) was found to be greatly dependent on (a) the combinations of DC with different St species and (b) to be markedly varied by a difference in mixing ratio of DC to Sts.

Langmuir monolayer properties of the fluorinated-hydrogenated hybrid amphiphiles with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC).

Surface pressure-area (pi-A), surface potential-area (DeltaV-A), and dipole moment-area (mu( perpendicular)-A) isotherms were obtained for the Langmuir monolayer of two fluorinated-hydrogenated hybrid amphiphiles (sodium phenyl 1-[(4-perfluorohexyl)-phenyl]-1-hexylphosphate (F6PH5PPhNa) and (sodium phenyl 1-[(4-perfluorooctyl)-phenyl]-1-hexylphosphate (F8PH5PPhNa)), DPPC and their two-component systems at the air/water interface. Monolayers spread on 0.02 M Tris buffer solution (pH 7.

Blending effects on adsorption and micellization of different membrane protein solubilizers: a thermodynamic study on three mixed systems of CHAPS with MEGA-8, -9 and -10 in pH 7.2 phosphate buffer solution.

By means of surface tension measurement (Wilhelmy method), micellization and adsorbed film formation were investigated for three combinations of mixed surfactant systems, all of which are used for solubilizing membrane proteins: a typical zwitterionic surfactant, CHAPS (a derivative of cholic acid) with n-alkyl (octyl, nonyl and decyl)-N-glucamides, MEGA-n (n=8, 9, 10). The data based on plotting of surface tension (gamma) versus logarithmic total molarity (or molality) (Ct or Mt) as a function of mole fraction of surfactant 2 (2 corresponds to MEGA-n's) enabled us to determine critical micellization concentration (CMC), minimum surface tension at CMC (gammaCMC), surface excess (Gamma(t)), mean molecular surface area (Am), the minimum Gibbs energy (Gmin(S)) of adsorbed film of both single and mixed surfactant systems and partial molecular area (PMA) in addition to parameters such as pC20 and CMC/C20 being related to synergism accompanied by blending (mixing) in regard to surface activity as well as micelle forming ability. On the basis of the regular solution theory, the relations of compositions of singly dispersed phase (X2), micellar phase (Y2) and adsorbed film (Z2) were estimated, and then the interaction parameters in micelles (omegaR) and in the adsorbed film phase (omegaA) were also calculated.