pH-Driven Self-Assembly of Acidic Microbial Glycolipids

Langmuir. 2016 Jun 28;32(25):6343-59. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b00488. Epub 2016 Jun 16.

Abstract

Microbial glycolipids are a class of well-known compounds, but their self-assembly behavior is still not well understood. While the free carboxylic acid end group makes some of them interesting stimuli-responsive compounds, the sugar hydrophilic group and the nature of the fatty acid chain make the understanding of their self-assembly behavior in water not easy and highly unpredictable. Using cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and both pH-dependent in situ and ex situ small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), we demonstrate that the aqueous self-assembly at room temperature (RT) of a family of β-d-glucose microbial glycolipids bearing a saturated and monounsaturated C18 fatty acid chain cannot be explained on the simple basis of the well-known packing parameter. Using the "pH-jump" process, we find that the molecules bearing a monosaturated fatty acid forms vesicles below pH 6.2, as expected, but the derivative with a saturated fatty acid forms infinite bilayer sheets below pH 7.8, instead of vesicles. We show that this behavior can be explained on the different bilayer membrane elasticity as a function of temperature. Membranes are either flexible or stiff for experiments performed at a temperature respectively above or below the typical melting point, TM, of the lipidic part of each compound. Finally, we also show that the disaccharide-containing acidic cellobioselipid forms a majority of chiral fibers, instead of the expected micelles.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acids / chemistry
  • Cellobiose / chemistry
  • Glycolipids / chemistry*
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Micelles
  • Scattering, Small Angle
  • Ustilago / chemistry
  • X-Ray Diffraction
  • Yeasts / chemistry*

Substances

  • Acids
  • Glycolipids
  • Micelles
  • Cellobiose