Dresden 2020 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 4: Membranes and Vesicles (joint session BP/CPP)
BP 4.3: Talk
Monday, March 16, 2020, 10:00–10:15, ZEU 250
From UV to Near Infrared Optical Control of Photolipid Vesicles — •Theresa S. Kehler1, Stefanie D. Pritzl1, Alexander F. Richter1, David B. Konrad2, Dirk Trauner2, and Theobald Lohmüller1 — 1Chair for Photonics and Optoelectronics, Nano-Institute Munich and Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Königinstr. 10, 80539 Munich, Germany — 2Department of Chemistry, New York University, Silver Center, 100 Washington Square East, New York 10003, United States
Photoswitchable azobenzene phospholipids or "photolipids" can be employed as molecular reagents in bilayer membranes to control a variety of characteristic membrane properties such as lateral fluidity, permeability or stiffness. A general drawback of the azobenzene photoswitch, however, is that illumination with UV light is required to trigger trans-to-cis isomerization, which limits the wider applicability of photolipids in biological systems.
Here, we report on the photophysical properties of a new group of halogenated azobenzene photolipids, where the wavelengths required to control photoisomerization are shifted to the visible and near-infrared range. The isomerization dynamics of red-shifted photolipid vesicles are characterized by absorption measurements, fluorescence microscopy and membrane fluctuation analysis. Notably, we observe a wavelength dependence of the switching rates, which can be harnessed to reversibly control the membrane rigidity up to a factor of two.