Ligand partitioning into lipid bilayer membranes under high pressure: Implication of variation in phase-transition temperatures.

The variation in phase-transition temperatures of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bilayer membrane by adding two membrane-active ligands, a long-chain fatty acid (palmitic acid (PA)) and an inhalation anesthetic (halothane (HAL)), was investigated by light-transmittance measurements and fluorometry. By assuming the thermodynamic colligative property for the bilayer membrane at low ligand concentrations, the partitioning behavior of these ligands into the DPPC bilayer membrane was considered. It was proved from the differential partition coefficients between two phases that PA has strong affinity with the gel (lamellar gel) phase in a micro-molal concentration range and makes the bilayer membrane more ordered, while HAL has strong affinity with the liquid crystalline phase in a milli-molal concentration range and does the bilayer membrane more disordered.

Thermotropic and barotropic phase transitions on diacylphosphatidylethanolamine bilayer membranes.

The bilayer phase transitions of four diacylphosphatidylethanolamines (PEs) with matched saturated acyl chains (C=12, 14, 16 and 18) and two PEs with matched unsaturated acyl chains containing a different kind of double bonds were observed by differential scanning calorimetry under atmospheric pressure and light-transmittance measurements under high pressure. The temperature-pressure phase diagrams for these PE bilayer membranes were constructed from the obtained phase-transition data. The saturated PE bilayer membranes underwent two different phase transitions related to the liquid crystalline (L) phase, the transition from the hydrated crystalline (L) phase and the chain melting (gel (L) to L) transition, depending on the thermal history.

How does acyl chain length affect thermotropic phase behavior of saturated diacylphosphatidylcholine-cholesterol binary bilayers?

Thermotropic phase behavior of diacylphosphatidylcholine (CnPC)-cholesterol binary bilayers (n=14-16) was examined by fluorescence spectroscopy using 6-propionyl-2-(dimethylamino)naphthalene (Prodan) and differential scanning calorimetry. The former technique can detect structural changes of the bilayer in response to the changes in polarity around Prodan molecules partitioned in a relatively hydrophilic region of the bilayer, while the latter is sensitive to the conformational changes of the acyl chains. On the basis of the data from both techniques, we propose possible temperature T-cholesterol composition Xch phase diagrams for these binary bilayers.

Volumetric characterization of ester- and ether-linked lipid bilayers by pressure perturbation calorimetry and densitometry.

We investigated the thermotropic volume behavior of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC), dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dihexadecylphosphatidylcholine (DHPC) membranes using pressure perturbation calorimetry (PPC) and densitometry. The ln φ(2) vs temperature curves (φ(2): apparent molar volume of phospholipid) obtained from the PPC data using an analysis method that we developed agreed with the results from the density measurements for these lipids within the relative difference of about 0.62%.

Thermotropic and barotropic phase transitions of dialkyldimethylammonium bromide bilayer membranes: effect of chain length.

The bilayer phase transitions of dialkyldimethylammonium bromides (2C(n)Br; n = 12, 14, 16) were observed by differential scanning calorimetry and high-pressure light-transmittance measurements. Under atmospheric pressure, the 2C(12)Br bilayer membrane underwent the stable transition from the lamellar crystal (L(c)) phase to the liquid crystalline (L(α)) phase. The 2C(14)Br bilayer underwent the main transition from the metastable lamellar gel (L(β)) phase to the metastable L(α) phase in addition to the stable L(c)/L(α) transition.