Inorganic cadmium affects the fluidity and size of phospholipid based liposomes.

Following intake and absorption of Cd into the bloodstream, one possible target is the lipid membrane surrounding erythrocytes as well as kidney and liver cells where Cd accumulates. We investigated the interactions of Cd with model membranes from a biophysical perspective by using fluorescence spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering to monitor changes in liposome size, membrane fluidity and lipid phase transition. The fluorescent probe Laurdan was incorporated into liposomes and used to quantitate cadmium induced fluidity changes in model systems hydrated in 20mM HEPES, 100mM NaCl pH7.4. The metal effects on membranes composed of the zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine were compared to the negatively charged lipids phosphatidic acid (PA), cardiolipin (CL), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylinositol (PI). The data showed that 5-2000μM Cd electrostatically targeted negatively charged lipids and increased the rigidity of these membranes whereby the gel to liquid crystalline phase of fully saturated anionic lipids was increased following the order: PG>PS>CL~PA. In addition, dynamic light scattering showed that Cd induced liposome aggregation in all negatively charged systems except for the PGs. Moreover, both effects were much stronger for saturated acyl chains versus unsaturated species. Finally, charge localization was important as lipids carrying the charge more distant from the hydrophobic core of the bilayer showed stronger interactions with Cd.