Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/2289/3661
Title: On the propensity of phosphatidylglycerols to form interdigitated phases
Authors: Pabst, G.
Danner, Sabine
Karmakar, Sanat
Deutsch, Gunter
Raghunathan, V.A.
Issue Date: Jul-2007
Publisher: Biophysical Society/Highwire Press
Citation: Biophysical Journal, 2007, Vol.93, p513
Abstract: We have determined the phase behavior of disaturated phosphatidylglycerols (PGs) of chain lengths nCH2 = 14–18 at high pH and ionic strength using calorimetry, dilatometry, as well as x-ray diffraction. PGs with nCH2 = 14 and 16 show thermotropic behavior similar to that of phosphatidylcholines (PCs). The area/lipid obtained in the gel phase is smaller than that reported for PCs despite the expected larger effective headgroup size. This can be explained by the tilting of the PG headgroup out of the bilayer plane, and we provide experimental evidence for a headgroup tilt transition. For distearoyl PG, we further find that the "usual" gel phase coexists with an interdigitated phase, which exhibits a transition from an orthorhombic into a hexagonal chain packing. The total amount of the interdigitated phase depends significantly on the temperature but is found to be largely independent of temperature equilibration time and different sample preparation protocols. Thus, the development of the interdigitated phase appears to be kinetically trapped. The formation of interdigitated phases in PGs at much smaller chain lengths than in PCs is of high relevance to interaction studies with antimicrobial peptides, as it provides a mechanism for the discrimination of membranes composed of different lipid species.
Description: Restricted Access. Artticles older than 12 months are open to all at the journal site. (alternative location)
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2289/3661
ISSN: E-ISSN: 1542-0086
P-ISSN: 0006-3495
Alternative Location: http://dx.doi.org/10.1529/biophysj.106.101592
Copyright: 2007 The Biophysical Society
Appears in Collections:Research Papers (SCM)

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