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The interactions between anionic or zwitterionic liposomes and a water-soluble, DNA-binding photochromic spiropyran are studied using UV/vis absorption and linear dichroism (LD) spectroscopy. The spectral characteristics as well as the kinetics of the thermal isomerization process in the absence and presence of the two different liposome types provide information about the environment and whether or not the spiropyran resides in the liposome membrane. By measuring LD on liposomes deformed and aligned by shear flow, further insight is obtained about interaction and binding geometry of the spiropyran at the lipid membranes. We show that the membrane interactions differ between the two types of liposomes used as well as the isomeric forms of the spiropyran photoswitch.

We report that DNA molecules can be intercalated and macroscopically oriented in the aqueous interstitia of a lyotropic lamellar liquid crystal. Using UV-vis linear dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy we show that double-stranded oligonucleotides (25 base pairs) in the water–octanoate–decanol system remain base-paired in the B conformation and are confined in two dimensions, with the helix axis preferentially parallel to the lipid bilayer surfaces but free to rotate within this plane. The degree of helix confinement and the corresponding 2-D orientation can be improved by decreasing the thickness of the water interstitia via the fraction of water in the ternary mixture. Not surprisingly, the corresponding single-stranded oligonucleotides are not aligned, with their persistence length being short in comparison to the lamellar interstitium thickness. We propose this as a model system for studying interactions of DNA–ligand complexes near a lipid bilayer membrane which we demonstrate by using dye probes that are either covalently attached to one end of the oligonucleotide or reversibly bound by intercalation between the base pairs. Three cationic dyes, all strongly bound by intercalation to DNA when free in solution, are found to not bind to DNA but to prefer the membrane surface. The covalently attached Cy5 also binds to the bilayer while Cy3 tends to end-stack to the oligonucleotide duplex. The orientation of Cy5 parallel to the membrane indicates that electrostatic surface binding predominates over insertion into the hydrophobic interior of the membrane. Anionic and zwitterionic dyes (FAM and ROX) are found to remain randomly oriented in the water between the lipid bilayer surfaces.

Synthesis of bis-4,5-diazafluoren-9-one silver(I) nitrate I (dafone = 4,5-diazafluoren-9-one) and the low temperature X-ray single crystal structure of [Ag(4,5-diazafluoren-9-one)2NO3], crystal form 1, and a re-determination of [Ag(4,5-diazafluoren-9-one)2]NO3·H2O, crystal form 2 are presented. Crystal form 1 has a distorted trigonal planar coordination geometry around Ag(I) with an N–Ag–N bond angle of 123.45(7)°. Crystal form 2 has a perfect linear coordination around Ag, with N–Ag–N 180.0°. Compound I was characterized by 1H-NMR, biological activity and ESI-MS in DMSO at room temperature. The biological activity was determined against 6 different resistant clinical isolates; two Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes) and four Gram-negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, and Salmonella sp.) in comparison with 15 known antibiotics used in the treatment of diabetic foot infections. Compound I showed broad spectrum activity against all the test organisms. P. mirabilis and S. aureus and K. pneumoniae were the most sensitive clinical isolates (MIC = 4, 6 and 4 μg ml−1, respectively). Three different hydrogels containing I or Ag2SO4 were prepared and the antimicrobial activity against Ps. aeruginosa (ATCC 15442) compared, showing more or less equal activity on a weight basis, but I seems to have a significant better performance per silver ion. The Ag(I) complex also binds more effectively to calf thymus DNA than the dafone ligand itself.