17.12.2012 Views

crc press - E-Lib FK UWKS

crc press - E-Lib FK UWKS

crc press - E-Lib FK UWKS

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

230 Cell-Penetrating Peptides: Processes and Applications<br />

In this ex<strong>press</strong>ion the ionic concentrations c i(∞) of all ions in the bulk phase should<br />

be accounted for. At a fixed surface density (charges/m 2 ), the surface potential (volt)<br />

will become dependent on the concentration and valency of all the ions present in<br />

the bulk phase. The equation above is more general than the early Gouy–Chapman<br />

equation where, e.g., the exponent is simplified as a serial expansion (linearization).<br />

In the simplest theories the surface charge density is smeared out, without considering<br />

any “discreteness-of-charge” effects. 27,28<br />

At the Stern layer (x = 0) the surface potential is defined as φ(0). At a distance<br />

x = 1/κ from the surface, the potential has decayed to φ(0)/e. This characteristic<br />

length is the so-called Debye length, which is a measure of the extension of the<br />

diffuse layer. The full ex<strong>press</strong>ion for the parameter κ includes the ionic strength,<br />

defined by<br />

all<br />

I= ∑zici<br />

1 2<br />

2<br />

Since κ ∝ I ½ it is clear that a higher ionic strength will result in a shorter Debye<br />

length (1/κ). Moreover, the surface potential φ(0) will become reduced due to<br />

screening. In this respect a multivalent ion will be very potent.<br />

Besides the nonspecific screening effect, specific interactions (bindings) may<br />

exist between charged particles and a charged membrane. For instance, weak intrinsic<br />

bindings exist among the alkali ions to acidic phospholipids. This situation will<br />

result in reduced value of the surface potential and is not accounted for in the doublelayer<br />

theory. The experimental surface potential (measured by electrophoresis as a<br />

zeta-potential) of a fully charged phospholipid vesicle (100 mol% PS, or PG) in 0.1<br />

M NaCl is about –60 mV. With only 20 mol% of negative phospholipids, a value<br />

more relevant for many biological membranes, the surface potential of a bilayer<br />

becomes reduced to about –30 mV at the same salt concentration. If the salt concentration<br />

is decreased to only 0.01 M NaCl the surface potential of the low charge<br />

density vesicle will now also become about –60 mV. Hence, it is extremely important<br />

to have good control of the ionic strength when doing studies on the charged CCPs<br />

in model systems.<br />

The relevant concentration in a membrane process is the local surface concentration.<br />

This should be used in order to understand intrinsic properties of the CPPs.<br />

Applying bulk concentration of ions will lead to apparent parameters, which will<br />

be dependent on the experimental conditions. Without proper corrections for the<br />

electrical potential effects, an apparent value for the binding constant (K app) is<br />

measured. This value is related to the intrinsic (true) value (K int) by<br />

K app = K int exp[–z ieφ(0)/kT]<br />

The apparent binding constant will be orders of magnitude larger than the intrinsic<br />

one for a polycationic molecule (like a CPP) when φ(0) is negative (–mV). The<br />

i

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!