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Polymeric Monolayers and Liposomes as Models for Biomembranes and Cells

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Contemporary Topics in Polymer Science

Synopsis

Conventional model membrane systems based on natural lipids usually lack long term stability. Polymer chemistry can help to overcome this disadvantage introducing poly­merizable lipids into these systems. Polymerizable lipids used are diacetylenes, butadienes, acrylates or lipids which can undergo polycondensation.

The polymerization behaviour of these membrane systems can be characterized in monolayers and liposomes using surface pressure-area diagrams or DSC investigations respectively. Decreased membrane permeability and improved stability towards the addition of detergents of polymerized vesicles can be verified by leakage measurements of entrapped 6-carboxyfluorescein.

To introduce biological specifities into these stabilized systems polymerizable glycolipids are synthesized to provide surface recognition properties. Both monomeric and polymeric vesicles made of these lipids are agglutinated by lectins.

Further biological modifications are possible by adding natural lipids or membrane proteins (such as ATPase) to polymerizable membranes. Membrane protein activity can be retained after polymerization. The natural, non­polymerizable lipid component can be selectively degraded (for instance by phospholipase A2) to open up the previously stable compartment. The polymerization behaviour of diacetylene and butadiene lipids strongly depends on the miscibility with the natural component. Means to characterize these mixed systems are again DSC and electron microscopy, the latter evaluating patch formation using the ripple structure of phospholipids.

Besides this “synthetic” route, the combination of natural and poymerizable membrane components is principally possible via the fusion of cell membranes with polymerizable vesicles. Fusion of cells is possible using dielectrophoresis and dielectric breakdown. Since it was possible to prepare “giant” vesicles (visible under the light microscope) these techniques were also successfully applied to vesicle-vesicle fusion. Investigations on cell-vesicle fusion are currently under way.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Mainz, D-6500, Mainz, West-Germany

    K. Dorn & H. Ringsdorf

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  1. K. Dorn
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  2. H. Ringsdorf
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hercules Incorporated, Wilmington, Delaware, USA

    E. J. Vandenberg

  2. Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

    E. J. Vandenberg

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© 1984 Plenum Press, New York

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Dorn, K., Ringsdorf, H. (1984). Polymeric Monolayers and Liposomes as Models for Biomembranes and Cells. In: Vandenberg, E.J. (eds) Contemporary Topics in Polymer Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2759-2_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2759-2_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9706-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-2759-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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