Abstract
Hydrophilic films of phospholipids were deposited onto plastic substrates (surface-treated for cell cultures) and shown to adhere sufficiently for measuring their interfacial properties by the method of contact angles. Both by absolute magnitude and by their dependence on temperature, the interfacial properties of these phospholipid films were indistinguishable from those determined for black lipid bilayer membranes with a different method by other authors. According to both their vesicular micromorphology and water permeability, the surface films can be interpreted to consist essentially of multibilayer vesicles with the hydrophilic groups facing outward. Treatment of these films with cell-culture medium containing calf serum results in changes of interfacial properties that are very similar to those effected on virus-transformed 3T3 cells (earlier work). These interfacial effects may be attributed essentially to serum proteins (such as albumin) adsorbing to phospholipid or cellular surfaces. The interfacial properties of nontransformed 3T3 cells are much less affected by serum treatment (earlier work), which correlates closely with their higher serum requirement for proliferation. Comparison of these results with those on the interfacial effects of serum on phospholipid films suggests that at least part of the proliferation-stimulating effect of serum is mediated by changes of interfacial properties of cell membranes upon adsorption of serum proteins such as albumin. Treatment of phospholipid films with concanavalin A, an inhibitor of cell proliferation, does not result in effects on their interfacial properties correlating with those on cellular membranes. This confirms previous suggestions that the latter depends on specific binding of convanavalin A to specific carbohydrates on the cell membrane.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Pattle, R. E. (1955),Nature 175, 1125.
Clements, J. A., Brown, E. S., and Johnson, R. P. (1958),J. Appl. Physiol. 12, 262.
Brown, E. S. (1964),Am. J. Physiol. 207, 402.
Pattle, R. E. (1965),Physiol. Rev. 45, 48.
Lichtenberger, L. M., Butler, B. D., and Hills, B. A. (1982),Fed. Proc. 41, 1124.
Lichtenberger, L. M., Graziani, L. A., Dial, E. J., Butler, B. D., and Hills, B. A. (1983),Science 219, 1327.
Hills, B. A., Butler, B. D., and Lichtenberger, L. M. (1983),Am. J. Physiol. 244, 6561.
Clements, J. A. (1957),Proc. Exp. Biol. Med. 95, 170.
Munden, J. W., and Swarbrick, J. (1973),Biochim. Biophys. Acta 291, 344.
Träuble, H., Eibl, H., and Sawada, H. (1974),Naturwissenschaften 61, 344.
Hills, B. A., and Ng, Y. L. (1974),J. Physiol. (Lond.)241, 52 P.
Schürch, S., Goerke, J., and Clements, J. A. (1976),Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 73, 4798.
Barrow, R. E., and Hills, B. A. (1979),J. Physiol. (Lond.)295, 217.
Hills, B. A. (1982),J. Physiol. (Lond.)325, 175.
Hills, B. A. (1983),J. Appl. Physiol: Respirat Environ. Exercise Physiol. 54, 420.
Jones, M. N. (1975),Biological Interfaces, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
van Oss, C. J., Gillman, C. F., and Neumann, A. W. (1975),Phagocytic Engulfment and Cell Adhesiveness as Cellular Surface Phenomena, Dekker, New York.
van Oss, C. J. (1978),Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 32, 19.
Adam, G., and Schumann, C. (1978),Progr. Colloid Polymer Sci. 65, 200.
Neumann, A. W., Absolom, D. R., van Oss, C. J., and Zingg, W. (1979),Cell Biophys. 1, 79.
Absolom, D. R., van Oss, C. J., Genco, R. J., Francis, D. W., and Neumann, A. W. (1980),Cell Biophys. 2, 113.
Adam, G., and Schumann, C. (1981),Cell Biophys. 3, 189.
Huang, L., Wheeldon, L., and Thompson, T. E. (1964),J. Mol. Biol. 8, 148.
Tien, H. T. (1967),J. Phys. Chem. 71, 3395.
Tien, H. T. (1968),J. Phys. Chem. 72, 2723.
Haydon, D. A., and Taylor, J. L. (1968),Nature 217, 739.
Ladbrooke, B. D., and Chapman, D. (1969),Chem. Phys. Lipids 3, 304.
Phillips, M. C. (1972),Progr. Surface Membr. Sci. 5, 139.
Lee, A. G. (1977),Biochim. Biophys. Acta 472, 237.
Ohki, S., and Ohki, C. B. (1976),J. Theor. Biol. 62, 389.
Blume, A. (1979),Biochim. Biophys. Acta 557, 32.
Gruen, D. W. R. (1980),Biochim. Biophys. Acta 595, 161.
Neumann, A. W., Good, R. J., Hope, C. J., and Sejpal, M. (1974),J. Colloid Interface Sci. 49, 291.
Neumann, A. W. (1974),Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 4, 105.
Good, R. J. (1979), Contact Angles and the Surface Free Energy of Solids, inSurface and Colloid Science (Good, R. J., and Stromberg, R. R., eds.), Plenum, New York, vol. 11, 1–29.
van Oss, C. J., Visser, J., Absolom, D. R., Omenyi, S.H., and Neumann, A. W. (1983),Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 18, 133.
Neumann, A. W., and Good, R. J. (1979),Techniques of Measuring Contact Angles, inSurface and Colloid Science (Good, R. J., and Stromberg, R. R., eds.), Plenum, New York, vol. 11, pp. 31–91.
Spelt, J. K., Absolom, D. R., Zingg, W., van Oss, C. J., and Neumann, A. W. (1982),Cell Biophys. 4, 117.
Neumann, A. W., Absolom, D. R., Francis, D. W., and van Oss, C. J. (1980),Sep. Purif. Meth. 9, 69.
Adamson, A. W. (1976),Physical Chemistry of Surfaces, Wiley, New York, 3rd ed., p. 352.
Reeves, J. P., and Dowben, R. M. (1969),J. Cell. Physiol. 73, 49.
Lax, E. (Ed.) 1967,Taschenbuch für Chemiker und Physiker, Springer, Berlin, Bd. 1, p. 607.
Burger, M. M., and Noonan, K. D. (1970),Nature 228, 512.
McClain, D. A., D’Eustachio, P., and Edelman, G. (1977),Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74, 666.
Noonan, K. D., and Burger, M. M. (1973),J. Biol. Chem. 248, 4286.
Neumann, A. W., and Good, R. J. (1972),J. Colloid Interface Sci. 38, 341.
Eick, J. D., Good, R. J., and Neumann, A. W. (1975),J. Colloid Interface Sci. 53, 235.
Kuhn, H., Möbius, D., and Bücher, H. (1973), Spectroscopy of Monolayer Assemblies, inPhysical Methods in Chemistry (Weissberger, A, and Rossiter, B. W., eds.), Wiley, New York, Vol. I., Part III, pp. 577–702.
Carruthers, A., and Melchior, D. L. (1983),Biochemistry 22, 5797.
Phillips, P. G., and Lubin, M. (1977),Exp. Cell Res. 106, 31.
van der Bosch, J., and McConnell, H. M. (1975),Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 72, 4409.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Steiner, U., Adam, G. Interfacial properties of hydrophilic surfaces of phospholipid films as determined by the method of contact angles. Cell Biophysics 6, 279–299 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02788633
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02788633
Index Entries
- Phospholipid films
- interfacial properties of
- contact angles, of phospholipid films
- interfacial tensions, of phospholipid films
- effect of growth factors, on phospholipid films
- cellular membranes, interfacial properties of
- films, interfacial properties of
- phospholipid
- surface tension, of phospholipid films
- growth factors, effects on phospholipid films
- membranes, interfacial properties of