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1H NMR dipolar echo decay spectroscopy: a sensitive probe of membrane structure
N Janes1, E Rubin, T F Taraschi
1Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107.
Abstract:
The structural and motional properties of membrane lipids in various physical states and macroscopic organizations are elucidated by 1H NMR dipolar echo decay spectroscopy (DECODE). Multilamellar lipid dispersions in the gel (L beta') and liquid-crystalline (L alpha) states and a nonbilayer, hexagonal (HII) phase are readily distinguished, a dynamic profile within these phases is identified, and dipolar order parameters are obtained in the fluid phases. The method is suitable for any pulsed NMR spectrometer. DECODE provides the first depth-dependent assay of lipid order that does not rely on isotopic labeling or exogenous probe.