title: Lipid-Bilayer Dynamics Probed by a Carbon Dot-Phospholipid Conjugate.
abstract: Elucidating the dynamic properties of membranes is important for understanding fundamental cellular processes and for shedding light on the interactions of proteins, drugs, and viruses with the cell surface. Dynamic studies of lipid bilayers have been constrained, however, by the relatively small number of pertinent molecular probes and the limited physicochemical properties of the probes. We show that a lipid conjugate comprised of a fluorescent carbon dot (C-dot) covalently attached to a phospholipid constitutes a versatile and effective vehicle for studying bilayer dynamics. The C-dot-modified phospholipids readily incorporated within biomimetic membranes, including solid-supported bilayers and small and giant vesicles, and inserted into actual cellular membranes. We employed the C-dot-phospholipid probe to elucidate the effects of polymyxin-B (a cytolytic peptide), valproic acid (a lipophilic drug), and amyloid-β (a peptide associated with Alzheimer's disease) upon bilayer fluidity and lipid dynamics through the application of various biophysical techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Sukhendu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nandi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Ravit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Malishev
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Susanta Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Bhunia
authors.affiliation: Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Sofiya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kolusheva
authors.affiliation: Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jopp
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel; Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. Electronic address: razj@bgu.ac.il.
authors.forename: Raz
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jelinek
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010743:Phospholipids; D002244:Carbon