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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging and Force Spectroscopy of Supported Lipid Bilayers
Published on: July 22, 2015
The influence of headgroup structure and fatty acyl chain saturation of phospholipids on monolayer behavior: a
Nicolas Anton1, Patrick Saulnier, Frank Boury
1Inserm U646, Ingénierie de la Vectorisation Particulaire, 10 rue A. Boquel, F-49100 Angers, France.
Abstract:
This paper compares six phospholipidic monolayers at the water/chloroform interface by performing dilational rheological measurements with a drop tensiometer apparatus. The chosen lipids differ both in their headgroup structure and fatty acyl chain saturation or symmetry. The study concentrated on monolayers formed with DPPC, DPPE, DOPC, DOPE, POPC and POPE. Using a generalized Maxwell rheological model, transposed at the interface, the intimate intermolecular interactions between amphiphilic molecules are studied on and off the monolayer plane. The equilibrium and nonequilibrium phenomena are analyzed and, respectively, correlated with monolayer cohesion and with monolayer/sub-surface interactions. The purpose of this work is to gain further insights into the influences (as slight as they are) of the weak changes in phospholipid structure and on the behavior of the monolayers. The results, widely described, provide further details on nuances existing between very similar molecules, and likewise, on the synergies created between the different effects.
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