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Low-frequency Raman spectroscopy as a new tool for understanding the behaviour of ionisable compounds in dispersed mesophases

Krog, Lasse S. ; Kihara, Shinji ; Mota-Santiago, Pablo LU ; Foderà, Vito ; Bērziņš, Kārlis and Boyd, Ben J. (2025) In Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 683. p.210-220
Abstract

Hypothesis: Low-frequency Raman (LFR) spectroscopy is proposed as a novel non-destructive methodology to probe pH-related phase transitions in self-assembled lipid particles. In this case, dispersed lipid mesophases were composed of ionisable oleic acid (OA) or nicergoline (NG) in monoolein (MO). The sensitivity of LFR spectroscopy to low-energy intermolecular vibrations was hypothesised to be due to structural transformation in ionisable dispersed mesophases upon changes in pH. Method/experiment: Phase transitions of dispersed mesophases of MO mixed with OA or NG were induced by varying the pH of the aqueous buffer. The structural transformations were studied using LFR spectroscopy, recording the corresponding changes in the... (More)

Hypothesis: Low-frequency Raman (LFR) spectroscopy is proposed as a novel non-destructive methodology to probe pH-related phase transitions in self-assembled lipid particles. In this case, dispersed lipid mesophases were composed of ionisable oleic acid (OA) or nicergoline (NG) in monoolein (MO). The sensitivity of LFR spectroscopy to low-energy intermolecular vibrations was hypothesised to be due to structural transformation in ionisable dispersed mesophases upon changes in pH. Method/experiment: Phase transitions of dispersed mesophases of MO mixed with OA or NG were induced by varying the pH of the aqueous buffer. The structural transformations were studied using LFR spectroscopy, recording the corresponding changes in the vibrational density of states (VDOS) upon changes in pH and analysed using principal component analysis (PCA). The results were correlated with structural transitions observed in simultaneous small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements. Findings: The intensity of the VDOS signal of MO + OA mesophases scaled with phase-specific transformations, such as from the bi-continuous cubic Im3¯m phase (V2) or lamellar-based vesicles to the reversed hexagonal p6m phase (H2). For NG subtle changes in the lattice parameter of the V2 phase of NG + MO mesophases coincided with the apparent dissociation constant (pKaapp) of NG, however, slight variations between the pKaapp of NG determined by equilibrated samples analysed using SAXS and non-equilibrated samples analysed using LFR suggest structural hysteresis upon changes in the protonation state of NG. This approach offers an efficient method for studying the phase behaviour of lipid systems under varying pH and potentially other conditions such as temperature.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Apparent dissociation constant, Dispersed mesophases, Ionisable lipids, Ionisable lipophilic drugs, Low-frequency Raman, Lyotropic liquid crystals
in
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
volume
683
pages
11 pages
publisher
Academic Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:39673934
  • scopus:85211745956
ISSN
0021-9797
DOI
10.1016/j.jcis.2024.12.032
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0d1d38f6-ad6c-4555-a891-52d2702ee008
date added to LUP
2025-03-04 11:26:23
date last changed
2025-07-08 22:27:51
@article{0d1d38f6-ad6c-4555-a891-52d2702ee008,
  abstract     = {{<p>Hypothesis: Low-frequency Raman (LFR) spectroscopy is proposed as a novel non-destructive methodology to probe pH-related phase transitions in self-assembled lipid particles. In this case, dispersed lipid mesophases were composed of ionisable oleic acid (OA) or nicergoline (NG) in monoolein (MO). The sensitivity of LFR spectroscopy to low-energy intermolecular vibrations was hypothesised to be due to structural transformation in ionisable dispersed mesophases upon changes in pH. Method/experiment: Phase transitions of dispersed mesophases of MO mixed with OA or NG were induced by varying the pH of the aqueous buffer. The structural transformations were studied using LFR spectroscopy, recording the corresponding changes in the vibrational density of states (VDOS) upon changes in pH and analysed using principal component analysis (PCA). The results were correlated with structural transitions observed in simultaneous small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements. Findings: The intensity of the VDOS signal of MO + OA mesophases scaled with phase-specific transformations, such as from the bi-continuous cubic Im3¯m phase (V<sub>2</sub>) or lamellar-based vesicles to the reversed hexagonal p6m phase (H<sub>2</sub>). For NG subtle changes in the lattice parameter of the V<sub>2</sub> phase of NG + MO mesophases coincided with the apparent dissociation constant (pK<sub>a</sub><sup>app</sup>) of NG, however, slight variations between the pK<sub>a</sub><sup>app</sup> of NG determined by equilibrated samples analysed using SAXS and non-equilibrated samples analysed using LFR suggest structural hysteresis upon changes in the protonation state of NG. This approach offers an efficient method for studying the phase behaviour of lipid systems under varying pH and potentially other conditions such as temperature.</p>}},
  author       = {{Krog, Lasse S. and Kihara, Shinji and Mota-Santiago, Pablo and Foderà, Vito and Bērziņš, Kārlis and Boyd, Ben J.}},
  issn         = {{0021-9797}},
  keywords     = {{Apparent dissociation constant; Dispersed mesophases; Ionisable lipids; Ionisable lipophilic drugs; Low-frequency Raman; Lyotropic liquid crystals}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{210--220}},
  publisher    = {{Academic Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Colloid and Interface Science}},
  title        = {{Low-frequency Raman spectroscopy as a new tool for understanding the behaviour of ionisable compounds in dispersed mesophases}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2024.12.032}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.jcis.2024.12.032}},
  volume       = {{683}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}