Polysaccharide functionalization reduces lipid vesicle stiffness

Author:

Jahnke Kevin1ORCID,Pavlovic Marko1ORCID,Xu Wentao1,Chen Anqi1,Knowles Tuomas P. J.2ORCID,Arriaga Laura R.3ORCID,Weitz David A.145ORCID

Affiliation:

1. School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138

2. Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom

3. Department of Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics, Condensed Matter Physics Center and Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain

4. Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115

5. Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138

Abstract

The biophysical properties of lipid vesicles are important for their stability and integrity, key parameters that control the performance when these vesicles are used for drug delivery. The vesicle properties are determined by the composition of lipids used to form the vesicle. However, for a given lipid composition, they can also be tailored by tethering polymers to the membrane. Typically, synthetic polymers like polyethyleneglycol are used to increase vesicle stability, but the use of polysaccharides in this context is much less explored. Here, we report a general method for functionalizing lipid vesicles with polysaccharides by binding them to cholesterol. We incorporate the polysaccharides on the outer membrane leaflet of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) and investigate their effect on membrane mechanics using micropipette aspiration. We find that the presence of the glycolipid functionalization produces an unexpected softening of GUVs with fluid-like membranes. By contrast, the functionalization of GUVs with polyethylene glycol does not reduce their stretching modulus. This work provides the potential means to study membrane-bound meshworks of polysaccharides similar to the cellular glycocalyx; moreover, it can be used for tuning the mechanical properties of drug delivery vehicles.

Funder

Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung

Joachim Herz Stiftung

Swiss National Science Foundation

Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation

Harvard MRSEC

Hong Kong SAR Government

Publisher

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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