Comparative study on cell membrane permeability of SDS and Triton X-100

Abstract

BackgroundSodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and polyethylene glycol octyl phenyl ether (Triton X-100) are commonly used for surfactants in the laboratory, which can dissolve lipids in the cell membrane, increase the permeability of cell membrane, and can assist the rapid penetration of staining reagents. Surfactants play an important role in immunostaining or tissue clearance.PurposeThis study aims to study the effect of SDS and Triton X-100 on cell membrane permeability.MethodsFirstly, the damage effects of SDS and Triton X-100 on cell membranes were compared and the optimal conditions were optimized. Then, the influence of the selection of SDS and Triton X-100 on the specific experimental results was investigated. Finally, the full-field transmission imaging technology of the soft X-ray nanoimaging beamline of the National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory at Hefei was used to compare their affection on cell morphology before and after the cell rupture.ResultsExperimental results show that 0.25% Triton X-100 has better membrane penetration than 4% SDS, and the optimal treatment time of 0.25% Triton X-100 is 10 min. In the experiment of peroxidase catalyzed 3,3'-Diaminobenzidine (DAB) polymerization, SDS, rather than Triton X-100, affects the catalytic activity of enzymes, hence changes the staining effect. The synchrotron radiation high-resolution imaging demonstrate that there is no significant difference of cell morphology before and after the cell membrane permeability with Triton X-100.ConclusionsTriton X-100 is a better surfactant than SDS in the cell membrane permeability. The principal method of this study provides a good support for selecting suitable surfactants in the experiments.

Keywords

• sodium lauryl sulfate
• polyethylene glycol octyl phenyl ether
• cell membrane permeability
• x-ray imaging