Communication: Rigidification of a lipid bilayer by an incorporated n-alkane

Abstract

Articles you may be interested inLinking lipid architecture to bilayer structure and mechanics using self-consistent field modelling

Phase separation of a ternary lipid vesicle including n-alkane: Rugged vesicle and bilayer flakes formed by separation between highly rigid and flexible domains

“…7 In contrast to the depth and breadth of investigations on the effect of cholesterol, the effects of other organic molecules on the phase separation have, so far, rarely been studied, though various molecules in real biomembranes have specific roles. 2 The molecules incorporated in a mono-component lipid bilayer have specific effects depending on their molecular The Journal of Chemical Physics ARTICLE scitation.org/journal/jcp shapes, [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] which needs further investigation of their effects on the phase separation. Recently, we reported the effect of tetradecane (TD) on the phase separation.…”

“…Recently, we reported the effect of tetradecane (TD) on the phase separation. 11 When TD is mixed with a DOPC/DPPC mixture, a characteristic morphology of the phase-separated vesicle is observed at room temperature. Very rigid and flat DPPC-rich domains in the ordered gel phase are connected by flexible DOPC-rich domains in the disordered liquid-crystalline phase.…”

“…This morphology is caused by the characteristic effects of TD, which is opposite to the effect of cholesterol. 11 That is, the molecular arrangement in the ordered gel phase is disordered by cholesterol due to its steric hindrance, but with the addition of TD, the bilayer in the ordered gel phase becomes more ordered and the molecular packing is enhanced. The enhanced packing leads to the rigidification of the bilayer 11 and also a change in the order-disorder phase transition temperature.…”

“…11 That is, the molecular arrangement in the ordered gel phase is disordered by cholesterol due to its steric hindrance, but with the addition of TD, the bilayer in the ordered gel phase becomes more ordered and the molecular packing is enhanced. The enhanced packing leads to the rigidification of the bilayer 11 and also a change in the order-disorder phase transition temperature. 10 These opposite effects seem to originate from the different molecular shapes of TD and cholesterol, which is bulkier than TD.…”

Contrasting Effects of a Rigid Core and an Alkyl Chain in nCB on the Phase Behavior of Lipid Bilayers

“…17 As n-alcohols and trans fatty acids exhibit similar effects on phase behavior, 19−21 it was expected that a molecule consisting mainly of a linear alkyl chain would have a similar effect on the physical properties of lipid bilayers. 17 The contrasting effects of cholesterol and n-alkanes indicate that the effect of any incorporation depends strongly on the structure of the incorporated molecules. It seems likely that a bulky molecule would perturb the molecular order to a larger extent than less sterically hindered molecules.…”