Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Realistic Membrane Modeling Using Complex Lipid Mixtures in Simulation Studies
Published on: September 1, 2023
Molecular aspects of the interaction between plants sterols and DPPC bilayers: an experimental and theoretical
Claudia Silva1, Francisco J Aranda, Antonio Ortiz
1Facultad de Ciencias Agronómicas, Departamento de Recursos Ambientales, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile.
Abstract:
The effect of sterols composition in a lipid bilayer was investigated on membranes of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and mixtures with the plant sterols β-sitosterol and stigmasterol. Differential scanning calorimetry, 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) fluorescence polarization and infrared spectroscopy studies showed that both sterols changed the packing of the membrane and the hydration of the polar headgroup of the phospholipids, disordering the gel phase and, vice versa, ordering the membrane in the liquid crystalline phase. In all cases some differences among β-sitosterol and stigmasterol could be observed, being β-sitosterol slightly more efficient than stigmasterol in ordering a fluid membrane, bringing the membrane to a more packed liquid ordered phase. Molecular dynamic simulations were carried out to better characterize the distinct behavior of both sterols in a DPPC-membrane. The calculated parameters agreed quite well with the experimental results and a molecular model is proposed to explain differences in the sterols molecules and their effect on the DPPC-bilayer.
More Related Videos
11:44Metabolic Labeling and Membrane Fractionation for Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Arabidopsis thaliana Suspension Cell Cultures
Published on: September 28, 2013
13:02Arabidopsis thaliana Polar Glycerolipid Profiling by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) Coupled with Gas-Liquid Chromatography (GLC)
Published on: March 18, 2011
Related Concept Videos
Biosynthesis of Lipids
Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
Cell Adhesion in Plants
Pectins are complex heteropolymers mainly composed of negatively-charged α-D-glucopyranosyl uronic acid and some neutral glycosyl residues such as α-L-rhamnopyranose, α-L-arabinofuranose, and...
Phosphoinositides and PIPs
Different phosphoinositides are synthesized and recruited on the cytosolic face of the plasma membrane. The localization of specific phosphoinositides concentrated in separate membrane...
Membrane Lipids
Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and sphingomyelin are the most common phospholipids present in mammalian membranes. At physiological pH, phosphatidylserine is negatively charged, while the other three...
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...