Phenylalanine Blocks Defects Induced in Gel Lipid Membranes by Osmotic Stress

ANDREA C. CUTRÓ; ANIBAL E. DISALVO

JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B - (Print)

AMER CHEMICAL SOC

Lugar: Washington; Año: 2015

1520-6106

We study the binding of phenylalanine (Phe) with dipalmitoylphosphocholine (DPPC) vesicles in gel (25 °C) and in liquid crystalline states(50 °C) and in gel large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) subjected to osmoticdehydration with merocyanine (MC 540) as a fluorescent surface membranemarker. Phe does not produce significant changes in MC 540 monomerconcentration in DPPC LUVs at 50 °C. In contrast, it significantly decreasesthe monomer adsorption in defects present in DPPC LUVs at 25 °C. WhenDPPC LUVs were subjected to hypertonic stress, dehydration caused moredefects, and in this case phenylalanine is also able to block such defect.