A new method for studying the interaction between chlorpromazine and phospholipid bilayer.

The spectroscopic and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies of interaction between chlorpromazine (CPZ) and dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DMPG) bilayer by using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as probes are reported. The DMPG bilayer-protected AuNPs were prepared by a simple one-step method. The DMPG bilayer tethered on the AuNPs was considered as a biomembrane model. The addition of CPZ affected the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and morphology of the prepared AuNPs, and this effect was monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy and TEM. The interaction between CPZ and DMPG bialyer was CPZ concentration-dependent, and the possible mechanism was discussed. This simple and facile method may be quite general and work for other surface active drug-biomembrane or protein-biomembrane interactions.