Interactions between the ganglioside GM1 and hexadecylphosphocholine (miltefosine) in monolayers at the air/water interface

The ganglioside, GM1, was studied as Langmuir monolayers at the air/water interface with surface pressure-area measurements in addition to Brewster angle microscopy. A characteristic plateau transition, observed on aqueous subphases of pH 2 and 6, 20 °C, at the surface pressure of ca. 20 mN/m, was attributed to the reorientation of GM1 polar group upon film compression. This transition was found to disappear at alkaline subphases (pH 10) due to the hydration of fully ionized polar group, hindering its reorientation. The interactions between GM1 and hexadecylphosphocholine (miltefosine) were investigated in mixed monolayers and analyzed with the mean molecular areas, excess areas of mixing and the excess free energy of mixing versus film composition plots. The monolayers stability, quantified by the collapse pressure values, as well as the strength of interaction was found to diminish in the following order: pH 6 > pH 2 > pH 10. The strongest interaction occurs for mixed films of miltefosine molar fraction, XM = 0.7-0.8, especially at low pressure region, and are explained as being due to the surface complex formation of 3:1 or 4:1 (miltefosine:ganglioside) stoichiometry (XM = 0.75 or 0.8, respectively).