The Equilibria of Diosgenin-Phosphatidylcholine and Diosgenin-Cholesterol in Monolayers at the Air/Water Interface.

Diosgenin (Dio) has shown many treatment properties, but the most important property is cytotoxic activity in cancer cells. In this study, we investigated monolayers of Dio, cholesterol (Ch), and phosphatidylcholine (PC) at the air/water interface. The measurements were carried with a Langmuir Teflon trough and a Nima 9000 tensiometer program. The surface tension values of pure and mixed monolayers were used to calculate π-A isotherms and determine molecular surface areas. We were able to demonstrate the formation of complexes between Dio and PC and Dio and Ch molecules also. We considered the equilibrium between individual components and the formed complexes. In addition, we established that diosgenin and the lipids formed highly stable 1:1 complexes.