Tunable Phospholipid Nanopatterns Mediated by Cholesterol with Sub-3 nm Domain Size.

The interactions between phospholipids and cholesterol have been extensively studied in the aqueous systems because of their vital functionalities in the cell membrane. In this study, instead of the self-assembly in water, we explored the microphase-separated structures of phospholipids in bulk and thin films in the absence of solvents and created a series of ordered nanostructures by incorporation of cholesterol into phospholipids. Three zwitterionic two-tailed phospholipids, that is, phosphatidylcholines (PCs), with different numbers of double bonds on the hydrocarbon tails were investigated, including egg PC, 1,2-dioleoyl- sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC), and 1,2-dipalmitoyl- sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC).

Effects of Alkali Cations and Halide Anions on the Self-Assembly of Phosphatidylcholine in Oils.

The interactions between ions and phospholipids are closely associated with the structures and functions of cell membrane. Instead of conventional aqueous systems, we systematically investigated the effects of inorganic ions on the self-assembly of lecithin, a zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine, in cyclohexane. Previous studies have shown that addition of inorganic salts with specific divalent and trivalent cations can transform lecithin organosols into organogels.