Rhamnolipids represent a large class of biologically produced surface-active compounds, which participate in various essential cellular functions. While many studies have reported on the antibacterial and antifungal effects of rhamnolipids, only a few tried to describe the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects. Here, we first review the literature on rhamnolipid-phospholipid interactions and then add own results on a prominent monorhamnolipid congener, RhaC₁₀C₁₀. By focusing on the interactions between the rhamnolipid and lipid model membranes of different complexity, up to heterogeneous raft-like model biomembranes, we gained new insights into changes of the lateral membrane organization and morphological changes of membrane vesicles induced by partitioning of the rhamnolipid. To this end, AFM, confocal fluorescence microscopy, and Laurdan fluorescence spectroscopy analyses were employed. In summary, we provide a concise description of the physio-chemical effects rhamnolipids impose on lipid membranes, which help us to understand their physiological role.

鼠李糖脂代表一大类生物产生的表面活性化合物，其参与各种基本的细胞功能。尽管许多研究报道了鼠李糖脂的抗菌和抗真菌作用，但只有少数尝试描述这些作用的分子机制。在这里，我们首先回顾一下鼠李糖脂-磷脂相互作用的文献，然后在一个著名的鼠李糖脂同源物RhaC ₁₀ C ₁₀上添加自己的结果。。通过关注鼠李糖脂和不同复杂程度的脂质模型膜之间的相互作用，直至异质筏状模型生物膜，我们获得了对鼠李糖脂的分配引起的侧向膜组织变化和膜囊泡形态变化的新见解。为此，采用了AFM，共聚焦荧光显微镜和Laurdan荧光光谱分析。总之，我们提供了鼠李糖脂对脂质膜施加的物理化学作用的简要描述，这有助于我们了解它们的生理作用。