Influence of dicarboxylic phosphatidylcholines on phosphatidylcholine liposomes as revealed by gel chromatography and electron microscopy

The effect of dicarboxylic phosphatidylcholines (glutarylphosphatidylcholine) on the structural changes of phosphatidylcholine liposomes is examined by using multilamellar liposomes prepared with egg phosphatidylcholine or dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and by varying the surface charge by addition of dicetyl phosphate. Investigations are performed by gel chromatography and electron microscopy. Glutarylphosphatidylcholine is in micellar form (rod-like micelles or globular micelles). The structures obtained depend on the fatty acid saturation of liposomes and on the charge of liposome (addition or not of dicetyl phosphate). With egg phosphatidylcholine/glutarylphosphatidylcholine dispersions, an aspect more similar to myelinic figures than liposomes is observed, while in the presence of dicetyl phosphate, liposomes similar to control egg phosphatidylcholine liposomes are obtained. Gel chromatography on Sepharose 4B and turbidity measurements prove that dicetyl phosphate increases the stability of egg phosphatidylcholine/glutarylphosphatidylcholine mixtures. On the other hand, in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine/glutarylphosphatidylcholine dispersions, incorporation of dicetyl phosphate destabilizes bilayer structure and the formation of mixed micelles occurs. Viscosity measurement shows, in the presence of dicetyl phosphate, an increased fluidity for dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine/glutarylphosphatidylcholine dispersions, in agreement with the micellar organization. These data confirm that the disorganization of liposomal membranes by dicarboxylic phosphatidylcholine depends on the fatty acid composition of phosphatidylcholine and on the presence of dicetyl phosphate.