Jj. Pan et D. Charych, MOLECULAR RECOGNITION AND COLORIMETRIC DETECTION OF CHOLERA-TOXIN BY POLY(DIACETYLENE) LIPOSOMES INCORPORATING G(M1) GANGLIOSIDE, Langmuir, 13(6), 1997, pp. 1365-1367
Molecular recognition sites on cell membranes serve as the main commun
ication channels between the inside of a cell and its surroundings. Up
on receptor binding, celular messages such as ion channel opening or a
ctivation of enzymes are triggered. In this report, we demonstrate tha
t artificial cell membranes made from conjugated lipid polymers (poly(
diacetylene)) can, on a simple level, mimic membrane processes of mole
cular recognition and signal transduction. The ganglioside GM1 was inc
orporated into poly(diacetylene) liposomes. Molecular recognition of c
holera toxin at the interface of the liposome resulted in a change of
the membrane color due to conformational changes in the conjugated (en
e-yne) polymer backbone. The ''colored liposomes'' might be used as si
mple colorimetric sensors for drug screening or as new tools to study
membrane-membrane or membrane-receptor interactions.