Interactions between an anticancer drug – edelfosine – and DPPC in Langmuir monolayers

Edelfosine (1-O-octadecyl-2-O-methyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) is one of the alkyl-lysophospholipids (ALPs), which seem to be very promising in cancer therapy. Because of their phospholipids-like structure, they incorporate into biomembranes and do not target DNA. ALPs are supposed to act by inducing selective apoptosis in malignant cells, sparring healthy cells of the organism. Basing on the structural similarity of ALPs to natural phospholipids, we performed studies on mixed monolayers of edelfosine and DPPC (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) – a model membrane phospholipid. The aim of these investigations is to understand how edelfosine affects DPPC, and to draw qualitative and quantitative information on the character of these interactions. To achieve this purpose, we applied the Langmuir technique, since monolayers at the air/water interface serve as a very useful two-dimensional model of biomembranes. The results obtained indicate that in the investigated mixtures very weak interactions occur. Therefore, it can be concluded that DPPC, contrary to other membrane components like sterols, does not interfere with edelfosine during its transport throughout cellular membrane.