Unsaturation of the phospholipid side-chain influences its interaction with cyclodextrins: A spectroscopic exploration using a phenazinium dye.

The interaction of a cationic photosensitizer Safranin-O with liposome membranes having similar surface charge (negative) but differing in the presence of saturation on the lipid side-chain has been studied. To this end, dimyristoyl-l-R-phosphatidylglycerol (DMPG) and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1'-rac-glycerol) (DOPG) phospholipids were employed to prepare small unilamellar vesicles. The dye is found to bind in the headgroup region of both the liposome membranes with significantly higher affinity to DOPG lipid containing unsaturated side chain. The effects of various cyclodextrins (CDs) on the stability of the probe-bound liposome membranes have also been investigated using steady-state and picosecond-resolved fluorescence as well as dynamic light scattering techniques. The modulations of the fluorescence properties of the lipid-bound dye were exploited to rationalize the membrane destabilization following interaction with the cyclodextrins. Experimental results reveal the selective interaction of DMPG membrane with CDs leading to rupture of the integrated structure of the liposome units accompanying release of the bound probe to the bulk aqueous phase. On the contrary, no discernible interaction of the CDs was observed with DOPG liposome membrane. Our results also show the differential extents of interaction of various CDs (α-CD, β-CD, methyl-β-CD, and γ-CD) with DMPG leading to varying degrees of release of the bound-dye molecule.