Lipids and block copolymers can be individually assembled into unsupported, spherical membranes (liposomes or polymersomes), each having their own particular benefits and limitations. Here we demonstrate the preparation of microscale, hybrid "lipopolymersomes" composed of the common lipid POPC (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine) and the commercially available copolymer PBd-b-PEO (polybutadiene-b-poly(ethylene oxide)) with the goal of incorporating the advantageous qualities of the unitary systems into mixed-membrane capsules. We investigate the lipopolymersomes using confocal fluorescence microscopy and demonstrate that these hybrid membranes are well mixed on nanoscopic length scales within the permittable compositional windows for hybrid vesicle formation. We measure the intramembrane dynamics and mechanical properties of these hybrid membranes by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) and micropipet aspiration, respectively. For the first time, we demonstrate the demixing of lipid-rich and polymer-rich membrane domains within the same vesicle membrane. This is achieved by the biotinylation of one of the constituent species and cross linking with the protein NeutrAvidin. The resultant domain patterning is dependent upon which component carries the biotin functionality: cross linking of the copolymer species results in domains that ripen into a single, large, copolymer-rich island, and cross linking of the lipids yields many small, "spot-like", lipid-rich domains within a copolymer-rich matrix. We discuss these morphological differences in terms of the fluidity and mechanical properties of the membrane phases and the possible resultant interdomain interactions within the membrane. These heterogeneous hybrid lipopolymersomes could find applications in fields such as targeted delivery, controlled release, and environmental detection assays where these capsules possess the characteristics of biocompatible lipid membranes combined with enhanced mechanical strength and stability from the copolymer matrix.

Insoluble monolayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) exhibit a phase transition resulting in the formation of domains with interesting shapes. We studied the features of DPPC domain shapes throughout the coexistence region. We find that the basic domain shape is an asymmetric “bean” with a flattened lobe and a distinct cavity. The cavity is a locus for growth, in the form of either a terminal nub or a projection which grows to form a new lobe. Multilobed domains thus grow from beans via a specific process; however, these are not stable and transform over time back to beans. We also find that atypical compression schemes can be used to generate domain shapes that stray markedly from the norm, such as multilobed complexes or toruses.

The release of cytochrome c from mitochondria is a key signaling mechanism in apoptosis. Although extramitochondrial proteins are thought to initiate this release, the exact mechanisms remain unclear. Cytochrome c (cyt c) binds to and penetrates lipid structures containing the inner mitochondrial membrane lipid cardiolipin (CL), leading to protein conformational changes and increased peroxidase activity. We describe here a direct visualization of a fluorescent cyt c crossing synthetic, CL-containing membranes in the absence of other proteins. We observed strong binding of cyt c to CL in phospholipid vesicles and bursts of cyt c leakage across the membrane. Passive fluorescent markers such as carboxyfluorescein and a 10-kDa dextran polymer crossed the membrane simultaneously with cyt c, although larger dextrans did not. The data show that these bursts result from the opening of lipid pores formed by the cyt c-CL conjugate. Pore formation and cyt c leakage were significantly reduced in the presence of ATP. We suggest a model, consistent with these findings, in which the formation of toroidal lipid pores is driven by initial cyt c-induced negative spontaneous membrane curvature and subsequent protein unfolding interactions. Our results suggest that the CL-cyt c interaction may be sufficient to allow cyt c permeation of mitochondrial membranes and that cyt c may contribute to its own escape from mitochondria during apoptosis.

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A recently introduced model is used to study several flows in fluids with large density variations over distances comparable to their molecular dimensions (strongly inhomogeneous fluids). According to our model, the local average density model (LADM), local viscosity coefficients can be assigned at each point in a strongly inhomogeneous fluid and the stress tensor retains its Newtonian form provided that the properly defined local viscosities are used. The model has been previously shown to agree with the results of molecular dynamics simulations on diffusion and flow properties in plane Couette flow. Application of this model requires determination of the molecular density profiles in the flow region. Using a successful closure for the pair distribution function, we solve the Yvon–Born–Green (YBG) equation of fluid structure in order to determine the density profiles of a fluid confined between planar micropore walls only a few molecular diameters apart. The fluid confinement produces a strongly inhomogeneous structure. Subsequently we apply LADM to set up the fluid mechanical equations for Couette flow, Poiseuille flow, and squeezing flow between parallel plates. With the use of the YBG theoretical density profiles we solve the flow equations and predict velocity profiles, stress distributions, and effective viscosities. The dependence of these quantities on the fluid inhomogeneity is described. The effective viscosity of strongly inhomogeneous fluids is found to be quite sensitive to the nature of the flow. Our squeezing flow analysis provides a first explanation of recent experimental findings on the effective viscosity of simple fluids confined in very narrow spaces.