Role of phase coexistence and composition of ternary liposomes containing cholesterol and ceramide on spontaneous curvature and structural stability

FRANCESCA GIUDICE; BRUNO MAGGIO; MARIA L. FANANI

Carlos Paz

Congreso; XLII Reunión Anual Sociedad Argentina de Biofísica; 2013

Sociedad Argentina de Biofísica

Liposomes of ternary mixtures of POPC / Chol / Cer in a wide range of relative composition were performed by the traditional method of extrusion and compared with liposomes formed by the ?Rapid Solvent Exchange? method (RSE) [1], which allows lipid vesicles adopting its spontaneous curvature, without external influences such as filtration or sonication. Thus, spontaneous curvatures of the ternary liposomes were evaluated and related to the different phase states characterized in these mixtures [2]. The data shows that, as we move from a fluid phase to the fluid and gel phases coexistence regions, the liposomes showed a higher polydispersity in diameter, which seems to depend on the composition of the fluid phase, which in turn depends on the relative concentration of cholesterol.