Black Foam Films from Aqueous Solutions of a Mixture of Phospholipids and a Permeation Enhancer

Spectroscopic Study of Lysopalmitoylphosphatidylcholine Newton Black Films

“…Thanks to their amphiphilic structure, lipids are able to form with water molecules different systems such as micelles and Langmuir films, but also free-standing black films. Such systems are made of two lipid monolayers facing each other, with their polar headgroups only separated by an interstitial water core of thickness less than 100 Å at equilibrium. − Relative to a biological membrane, black films have an inside out structure but nevertheless represent an interesting alternative to other ultrathin films to study by Raman spectroscopy 2D lipid organization and their interaction with amphiphilic molecules such as peptides and proteins. − They form easily from a drop of lipid vesicle solution poured in a hole drilled in a porous glass plate and may remain stable for several hours or even days, allowing experiments over a long time. Moreover, the absence of substrate or a thick liquid subphase makes them easier to study by Raman spectroscopy than monolayers at the air/water interface or supported bilayers on a solid substrate.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] Relative to a biological membrane, black films have an inside out structure but nevertheless represent an interesting alternative to other ultrathin films to study by Raman spectroscopy 2D lipid organization and their interaction with amphiphilic molecules such as peptides and proteins. [7][8][9] They form easily from a drop of lipid vesicle solution poured in a hole drilled in a porous glass plate and may remain stable for several hours or even days, allowing experiments over a long time. Moreover, the absence of substrate or a thick liquid subphase makes them easier to study by Raman spectroscopy than monolayers at the air/water interface or supported bilayers on a solid substrate.…”