Migration of poly-L-lysine through a lipid bilayer.

When a giant vesicle, composed of neutral and anionic lipid (90:10 mol %), comes into contact with various poly-l-lysines (MW 500-29 300), ropelike structures form within the vesicle interior. By using fluorescence lipids and epi-fluorescence microscopy, we have shown that both neutral and anionic lipids are constituents of the ropes. Evidence that the ropes are also comprised of poly-l-lysine comes from two experiments: (a) direct microinjection of poly(acrylic acid) into rope-containing vesicles causes the ropes to contract into small particles, an observation consistent with a polycation/polyanion interaction; and (b) direct microinjection of fluorescein isothiocyanate (a compound that covalently labels poly-l-lysine with a fluorescent moiety) into rope-containing vesicles leads to fluorescent ropes. The results may be explained by a model in which poly-l-lysine binds to the vesicle exterior, forms a domain, and enters the vesicle through defects or at the domain boundary. The model helps explain the ability of poly-l-lysine to mediate the permeation of a cancer drug, doxorubicine, into the vesicle interior.