Effect of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide block copolymers on the permeability of bilayer lipid membranes to small solutes including doxorubicin

Abstract

The effects of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide block copolymers (pluronics) on the permeability of several weak acids and bases through bilayer lipid membranes have been studied by the methods of monitoring (1) pH shifts near planar bilayers, (2) doxorubicin fluorescence quenching inside liposomes, and (3) current transients in the presence of hydrophobic anions. It has been shown that pluronics facilitate the permeation of comparatively large molecules (such as 2-n-undecylmalonic acid and doxorubicin) across lipid bilayers, while the permeation of small solutes (such as ammonium and acetic acid) remains unaffected. Pluronics also accelerate the translocation of large hydrophobic anions (tetraphenylborate). The effect of pluronics correlates with the content of propylene oxide units: it is enhanced when the portion of polypropylene oxide block in the copolymer is increased. The action of the pluronic on lipid membrane permeability differs from the effect of the conventional detergent Triton X-100, which does not affect doxorubicin transport if added at concentrations similar to those used for pluronics. It has been proposed that pluronics accelerate the processes of solute diffusion within lipid bilayers (in a structure-dependent manner) rather than influencing the rate of solute adsorption/desorption on the membrane surface. We suppose that the effect of pluronics on doxorubicin permeation across lipid bilayers along with the known effect on the multidrug resistance protein determines its influence on the therapeutic activity of anthracycline drugs.