Harnessing Nature: Oil Body Membrane as Intelligent Self-Assembled Amphiphilic Micelle Nano Aggregate

Abstract

Developing self-assembled nano-polymers exhibiting both excellent interfacial activity and mechanical strength remains a major challenge in natural nanomaterials. This study introduces a self-assembled amphiphilic micelle nano-aggregate derived from soybean oil body membranes, exhibiting a well-defined suprastructure and strong interfacial activity. Transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering were employed to reveal that, in its native state, the membrane protein-phospholipid micelle spontaneously self-assembles into spherical nano-aggregates through hydrophobic interactions. The internal phase of these aggregates exhibits amorphous and heterogeneous structures, which can be modulated by adjusting the interaction strength between membrane phospholipids and proteins and through ultrasound induction. This leads to a transition from spherical to elliptical aggregates, ultimately leading to the formation of an open-gap structure upon ultrasound treatment. Micellar phospholipids interact with the hydrophobic hairpin regions of oil body proteins, while ultrasound treatment increases structural disorder in the proteins, enhancing their thermal stability. The complete phospholipid composition, along with the open-gap transition, accelerates the migration of nano-aggregates to the oil-water interface, promoting structural deformation and expansion. This process leads to the formation of an elastic interfacial membrane, effectively stabilizing the artificial oil body. Overall, these findings highlight the potential of plant oil body membranes as intelligent self-assembled nano-polymers and offer new insights into the development of advanced surfactant materials.

Keywords: Oil body membrane, Amphiphilic micelle, Suprastructure deformation, Self-assembled nano-aggregate, Interfacial behavior