초록
The photosensitized lysis of egg lecithin lipid membranes (liposomes) have been performed to UV-B light (270-320 nm) by L-tryptophan(L-Trp) and its peptide such as N-acetylphenylalanyl-L-tryptophan(NAPT) incorporated in the liposomes(ca. 0.1% by weight) or in the external buffer (0.1-0.3 mM). Requirement of oxygenation suggests that the lysis of liposomes is caused by the photosensitized oxidation of lipids. There was significant protection against lysis photosensitized by Trp in the external buffer by low concentration of ferricyanide (0.8 mM), but there was no effect on the lytic efficiency by $N_3^-$ which is singlet oxygen($^1O_2$) quencher, indicative of an electron transfer mechanism involved in the photosensitization. The small change of the lytic efficiency with increasing pH from 4 to 9 was interpreted by large target theory and subsequently indicates that superoxide($O_2^-$) may be an active intermediate for the oxidation. The efficiency of photosensitization of Trp was higher than that of NAPT under the same experimental condition. The weak lytic efficiency of liposomes photosensitized by NAPT was enhanced by incorporating NAPT in liposomes, but it was again quenched by ${\beta}$-carotene incorporated in the bilayer of liposomes. These results indicate that a portion of liposome lysis may be due to $^1O_2$ formation from the excited NAPT.