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Biopolymer excreted by Pseudoalteromonas antarctica NF3, as a coating and protective agent of liposomes against dodecyl maltoside

✍ Scribed by A. de la Maza; L. Codech; O. Lopez; J. L. Parra; M. Sabés; J. Guinea


Publisher
Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
Year
1999
Tongue
English
Weight
284 KB
Volume
50
Category
Article
ISSN
0006-3525

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✦ Synopsis


The ability of an exopolymer of glycoproteic character (GP) excreted by a new gram-negative species Pseudoalteromonas antarctica NF 3 , to coat phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposomes and to protect these bilayers against the action of the nonionic surfactant dodecyl maltoside was investigated. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs of freeze fractured liposome/GP aggregates reveal that the addition of the glycoprotein to liposomes led to the formation of a film (polymer adsorbed onto the bilayers) that tightly coated PC bilayers. The complete coating was already achieved at a PC : GP weight ratio of about 9:1. Image analysis profiles of digitalized TEM micrographs (PC : GP weight ratio 8:2) show that this film was formed by a multilayer structure. The periods of the average distance of the pattern ordering in layer structures (9 -10 layers) were of about 2-3 nm and the thickness of the complete film was of about 25 nm. Higher amounts of glycoprotein resulted in a growth of this film, which exhibited at the highest proportion of this compound (50% in weight) a multifilm structure. An increasing resistance of liposomes to be affected by dodecyl maltoside both at subsolubilizing and solubilizing levels occurred as the