Abstract
Phosphatidylserine (PS) lipids in cell membranes play a significant role in apoptosis, blood clotting and neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using a novel fluorescence quenching assay, PS lipids in supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) were found to bind Cu2+ with high affinity. The resulting Cu2+-PS complex can quench a broad spectrum of lipid-bound fluorophores in a reversible and pH-dependent fashion. This quenching assay can be used to determine the binding affinity between Cu2+ and SLBs containing various PS concentrations, since the PS concentration on the cell surface changes during different biological events. It can be also used to investigate Cu2+-mediated interactions between proteins and membranes, for example, to explore β-Amyloid peptide (Aβ)-membrane interactions to assist clarifying the membrane-related neurotoxicity of Aβ.
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