Phase equilibria lipid-water systems

In the laboratory, we usually determine Kl2 from the slope of C versus C2 over a range of concentrations. Partition coefficients can be measured for essentially any two-phase system air-water, octanol-water, lipid-water, particle-water, and so on. In situ partition coefficients also can be measured where site-specific environmental conditions might influence the equilibrium phase distribution. 

In most cases we can assume that the equilibrium distribution and partitioning of organic chemicals in both mammalian and nonmammalian systems is a function of lipid content in the animal and that the lipid-water partition coefficient (AW) is equal to K0w Instances where this is not the case include specific binding sites (e.g., kepone in the liver) and nonequilibrium conditions caused by slow elimination rates of higher level organisms or structured lipid phases that sterically hinder accumulation of very hydrophobic chemicals. For aquatic organisms in constant contact with water, the bioconcentration factor or fish-water partition coefficient (AW) s simply ... 

When a bicontinuous cubic lipid-water phase is mechanically fragmented in the presence of a liposomal dispersion or of certain micellar solutions e.g. bile salt solution), a dispersion can be formed with high kinetic stability. In the polarising microscope it is sometimes possible to see an outer birefringent layer with radial symmetry (showing an extinction cross like that exhibited by a liposome). However, the core of these structures is isotropic. Such dispersions are formed in ternary systems, in a region where the cubic phase coexists in equilibrium with water and the L(x phase. The dispersion is due to a localisation of the La phase outside cubic particles. The structure has been confirmed by electron microscopy by Landh and Buchheim [15], and is shown in Fig. 5.4. It is natural to term these novel structures "cubosomes". They are an example of supra self-assembly. 

Besides the asymmetry between monolayers in cytomembranes, two of the more obvious differences between cubic phases and membranes are the unit cell size and the water activity. It has been argued that tire latter must control the topology of the cubic membranes [15], and hence tiiat the cubic membrane structures must be of the reversed type (in the accepted nomenclature of equilibrium phase behaviour discussed in Chapters 4 and 5 type II) rather than normal (type I). All known lipid-water and lipid-protein-water systems that exhibit phases in equilibrium with excess water are of the reversed type. Thus, water activity alone cannot determine the topology of cubic membranes. Cubic phases have recently been observed with very high water activity (75-90 wt.%), in mixtures of lipids [127], in lipid-protein systems [56], in lipid-poloxamer systems [128], and in lipid A and similar lipopolysaccharides [129,130]. 

This relationship indicates that permeation across membranes is significantly determined by the respective lipid/water partition coefficients of the compounds. If significant interactions between the chemical and the membrane occur (e.g. hydrogen bonding), the transfer across the membrane may be slower than indicated from pure diffusion. The differences in properties of the lipid phases give rise to unequal distribution among, for example, body tissues and liquids. The resultant equilibrium concentrations are a function of both the biotic/abiotic system and the chemicals investigated. Hence, the... 

Lipophilicity is a molecular property expressing the relative affinity of solutes for an aqueous phase and an organic, water-immiscible solvent. As such, lipophilicity encodes most of the intermolecular forces that can take place between a solute and a solvent, and represents the affinity of a molecule for a lipophilic environment. This parameter is commonly measured by its distribution behavior in a biphasic system, described by the partition coefficient of the species X, P. Thermodynamically, is defined as a constant relating the activity of a solute in two immiscible phases at equilibrium [111,112]. By convention, P is given with the organic phase as numerator, so that a positive value for log P reflects a preference for the lipid phase ... 

Lipids with a suitable hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) are known to spread on the surface of water to form monolayer films. It is obvious that if the lipid-like molecule is highly soluble in water, it will disappear into the bulk phase (as observed for SDS). Thus, the criteria for a monolayer formation are that it exhibits very low solubility in water. The alkyl part of the lipid points away from the water surface. The polar group is attracted to the water molecules and is inside this phase at the surface. This means that the solid crystal, when placed on the surface of water, is in equilibrium with the him spread on the surface. A detailed analysis of this equilibrium has been given in the literature (Gaines, 1966 Adamson and Gast, 1997 Birdi, 2009). The thermodynamics allows one to obtain extensive physical data on this system. It is thus apparent that, by studying only one monolayer of the substance, the effect of temperature can be very evident. 

An experimental complication is the difficulty in effecting molecular interaction between the components. The usual technique for preparing lipid-protein phases in an aqueous environment is to use components of opposite charge. This in turn means that the lipid should be added to the protein in order to obtain a homogeneous complex since a complex separates when a certain critical hydrophobicity is reached. If the precipitate is prepared in the opposite way, the composition of the complex can vary since initially the protein molecule can take up as many lipid molecules as its net charge, and this number can decrease successively with reduction in available lipid molecules. It is thus not possible to prepare lipid— protein—water mixtures, as in the case of other ternary systems, and to wait for equilibrium. Systems were prepared that consisted of lecithin-cardiolipin (L/CL) mixtures with (a) a hydrophobic protein, insulin, and with (b) a protein with high water solubility, bovine serum albumin (BSA). 

Partition coefficient represents the equilibrium ratio of the molar concentrations of a chemical substance (the solute) in a system containing two immiscible liquids. The octanol / water partition coefficient is expressed as either Kow or P and is a descriptor of a substance s relative affinity for lipids and water. For purposes of simplification, Kow is usually reported as its common logarithm (log Kow or log P). A large log Kow value for a chemical (relative to other substances) indicates that the chemical has a greater affinity for the n-octanol phase and, hence, is more hydrophobic (lipophilic). A negative log Kow value indicates that a chemical has a greater affinity for the water phase and, hence, is more hydrophilic. 

Equilibrium dialysis is used in a number of examples to analyse the ratio of lipid-bound to free analyte. Kramer et al. (1998) described the use of equilibrium dialysis by separating the liposome suspension and the water phase by a semi-permeable membrane. The analyte is dissolved in the water compartment of the system and diffuses into the liposome compartment. If equilibrium is reached, the remaining concentration of the analyte in the water compartment is determined by means of a quantification method (mainly HPLC or LCMS, fluorescence techniques) and the partition coefficient is calculated. Kramer et al. (1997) used a radio tracer substance as analyte to quantify the compound in both compartments using liquid scintillation counting. 

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