L-DOPA modulates the kinetics but not the thermodynamic equilibrium of TTA⁺ amphiphiles forming lyotropic nematic liquid crystals

Lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) are mixtures of amphiphile molecules usually studied as mimetic of biological membrane. The equilibrium dynamics of tetradecyltrimethyl ammonium cation (TTA⁺) molecules forming nematic LLCs (LNLCs) is guided by a dive-in mechanism where TTA⁺ molecules spontaneously leave and re-enter the bicelle. Of note, this dynamic behavior could be exploited to produce drug nano-delivery systems based on LNLCs. Therefore, the understanding of the effect of pharmaceutically interesting molecules in the dynamics of the dive-in mechanism should be crucial for drug delivery applications. In this work, we studied the effects of l-DOPA in the equilibrium dynamics of TTA⁺ bicelles forming LNLCs, employing a transdisciplinary approach based on ²H-NMR together with molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulations. Our data suggest that l-DOPA perturbs the kinetic of the dive-in mechanism but not the thermodynamics of this process. As whole, our results provide fundamental insights on the mechanisms by which l-DOPA govern the equilibrium of LNLCs bicelles.