Unusual penetration of phospholipid mono- and bilayers by Quillaja bark saponin biosurfactant.

The interactions between a model phospholipid 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and a biosurfactant Quillaja Bark Saponin (QBS) obtained from the bark of Quillaja saponaria Molina were studied using simple models of biological membranes. QBS is known to interact strongly with the latter, exerting a number of haemolytic, cytotoxic and anti-microbial actions. The interaction of QBS dissolved in the subphase with DPPC monolayers and silicon-supported bilayers was studied above the cmc (10(-3)M). Surface pressure relaxation and surface dilatational rheology combined with quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and neutron reflectivity (NR) were employed for this purpose. The DPPC-penetrating abilities of QBS are compared with those of typical synthetic surfactants (SDS, CTAB and Triton X-100). We show that the penetration studies using high surface activity (bio)surfactants should be performed by a subphase exchange, not by spreading onto the surfactant solution. In contrast to the synthetic surfactants of similar surface activity, QBS does not collapse DPPC mono- and bilayers, but penetrates them, improving their surface dilatational elastic properties even in the highly compressed solid state. The dilatational viscoelasticity modulus increases from 204 mN/m for pure DPPC up to 310 mN/m for the QBS-penetrated layers, while it drops to near zero values in the case of the synthetic surfactants. The estimated maximum insertion pressure of QBS into DPPC monolayers exceeds the maximum surface pressure achievable in our setup, in agreement with the surface rheological response of the penetrated layers.

Effect of hydration of sugar groups on adsorption of Quillaja bark saponin at air/water and Si/water interfaces.

Adsorption of a natural glycoside surfactant Quillaja bark saponin ("QBS", Sigma Aldrich 84510) was studied at the air/water and Si/water interfaces using a combination of surface pressure (SP), surface dilatational rheology, neutron reflectivity (NR), Infra-Red Attenuated Total Reflection Spectroscopy (IR ATR) and Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM). The adsorbed layers formed at the air/water interface are predominantly elastic, with the dilatational surface storage modulus reaching the maximum value of E'=184 mN/m. The NR results point to a strong hydration of the adsorbed layers (about 65% hydration, corresponding to about 60 molecules of water per one QBS molecule), most likely related to the presence of multiple sugar groups constituting the glycone part of the QBS molecules. With a layer thickness of 19 Å, the adsorbed amount obtained from NR seems largely underestimated in comparison to the value obtained from the surface tension isotherm. While this high extent of hydration does not prevent formation of dense and highly elastic layers at the air-water surface, QBS adsorption at the Si/water interface is much weaker. The adsorption isotherm of QBS on Si obtained from the QCM study reflects much lower affinity of highly hydrated and negatively charged saponin molecules to the Si/water interface. We postulate that at the air/water interface, QBS adsorbs through the triterpene aglycone moiety. In contrast, weak hydrogen bonding between the glycone part and the surface silanol groups of Si is responsible for QBS adsorption on more polar Si/water interface.