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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging and Force Spectroscopy of Supported Lipid Bilayers
Published on: July 22, 2015
Miscibility gap in fluid dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine:cholesterol as "seen" by x rays
F Richter1, G Rapp, L Finegold
1European Molecular Biology Laboratory at DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22603 Hamburg, Germany. efrichter@web.de
Abstract:
A binary mixture of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and cholesterol displays a fluid miscibility gap under excess water conditions. Effects due to the imperfect miscibility of the two amphiphiles are studied near to and far from thermodynamic equilibrium by time-resolved small angle x-ray diffraction. The experiment discloses that this mixture phase separates when leaving the miscibility gap upon heating, a transition that is not included in current phase diagrams. This transition appears to be reversible and shows a temperature hysteresis of only a few degrees. We suggest a model in which the transition is driven with increasing temperature by a movement of the cholesterol away from the hydrophilic-hydrophobic interface toward the hydrophobic core of the bilayer.
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