Cholesterol-based tethers and markers for model membranes investigation.

A series of new bifunctional cholesterol compounds for tethered bilayer membrane (tBLM) systems were synthesized and tested. The compounds containing cyclic disulfide group may be used as molecular anchors for phospholipid bilayers. Anchoring occurs through the insertion of the cholesterol moiety into the hydrophobic slab of the phospholipid layer, while the surface density of anchor molecules may be adjusted using disulfides terminated spacers. Five ethylene oxide segments between the disulfide group and the cholesteryl provide hydration of the layer separating solid support and model membrane. Another group of cholesterol derivatives described in this work contains either fluorescence probe or electroactive functional groups. We demonstrated the practical utility of these compounds for visualization of cholesterol extraction from and loading to tBLMs. We demonstrated that electroactive group containing cholesterol derivatives can be reconstituted either into vesicles or tBLMs. In both cases an electrochemical signal can be generated on electrodes from these probes. In general, the newly synthesized compound may be utilized in a variety of applications involving tethered bilayer systems and vesicles.