PubMed · 15406431
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F FLYNN, M MAIZELS. 1949. Cation control in human erythrocytes.. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.1949.sp004440
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The effect of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a cationic surfactant, was investigated on the aggregated form of DNA molecules in water at a given temperature. CTAB caused changes in the aggregated form of DNA molecules from loosely packed spherical to rodlike through toroidal one with increasing concentration below the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The change was suggested to arise from the ion complex formation between CTAB and DNA molecules due to the electrostatic interaction, thereby reducing the surface charge and solubility in water of the latter.
Surface tension, 19F and 1H NMR spectroscopy, and cryotransmission electron microscopy are used to characterize the state of association in aqueous solutions of a fluorosurfactant CF3(CF2)nSO2NH(CH2)3-4N(CH3)3+ I- (n = 8, 6) with and without lysozyme added. In the absence of lysozyme, we find monomers, small aggregates, and large vesicles to coexist, with the individual fluorosurfactant molecules exchanging slowly (>1 ms) among those states. When both lysozyme and fluorosurfactant are present in the solution, they have no measurable influence on the physical state of the other. In contrast, a hydrogenated cationic surfactant with the same headgroup, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, is shown to associate to lysozyme.
Cationic lipids and polymers are routinely used for cell transfection, and a variety of structure-activity relation data have been collected. Few studies, however, focus on the structural aspects of self-assembly as a crucial control parameter for gene delivery. We present here the observations collected for a set of cationic dendritic amphiphiles based on a stiff tolane core (1-4) that are built from identical subunits but differ in the number and balance of their hydrophobic and cationic hydrophilic moieties. We established elsewhere that vectors 3 and 4 have promising transfection properties. Scanning probe microscopy (AFM, STM), cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), and Langmuir techniques provide insight into the self-assembly properties of the molecules under physiological conditions. Furthermore, we present DNA and pH "jump" experiments where we study the response of Langmuir films to a sudden increase in DNA concentration or a drop in pH. We find that the primary self-assembly of the amphiphile is of paramount importance and influences DNA binding, serum sensitivity, and pH response of the vector system.