Publication

Direct visualization of dispersed lipid bicontinuous cubic phases by cryo-electron tomography

Cécile Hébert, Davide Demurtas, Paul Guichard, Raffaele Mezzenga
2015
Journal paper

Abstract

Bulk and dispersed cubic liquid crystalline phases (cubosomes), present in the body and in living cell membranes, are believed to play an essential role in biological phenomena. Moreover, their biocompatibility is attractive for nutrient or drug delivery system applications. Here the three-dimensional organization of dispersed cubic lipid self-assembled phases is fully revealed by cryo-electron tomography and compared with simulated structures. It is demonstrated that the interior is constituted of a perfect bicontinuous cubic phase, while the outside shows interlamellar attachments, which represent a transition state between the liquid crystalline interior phase and the outside vesicular structure. Therefore, compositional gradients within cubosomes are inferred, with a lipid bilayer separating at least one water channel set from the external aqueous phase. This is crucial to understand and enhance controlled release of target molecules and calls for a revision of postulated transport mechanisms from cubosomes to the aqueous phase.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/216706?ln=en

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Ontological neighbourhood

Biology

Cell biology: Membrane biology

Related concepts (32)

Cell membrane

The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of a cell from the outside environment (the extracellular space). The cell membrane consists of a lipid bilayer, made up of two layers of phospholipids with cholesterols (a lipid component) interspersed between them, maintaining appropriate membrane fluidity at various temperatures.

Liquid crystal

Liquid crystal (LC) is a state of matter whose properties are between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For example, a liquid crystal may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. There are many types of LC phases, which can be distinguished by their optical properties (such as textures). The contrasting textures arise due to molecules within one area of material ("domain") being oriented in the same direction but different areas having different orientations.

Liquid

A liquid is a nearly incompressible fluid that conforms to the shape of its container but retains a nearly constant volume independent of pressure. It is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, gas, and plasma), and is the only state with a definite volume but no fixed shape. The density of a liquid is usually close to that of a solid, and much higher than that of a gas. Therefore, liquid and solid are both termed condensed matter.

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