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Realistic Membrane Modeling Using Complex Lipid Mixtures in Simulation Studies
Published on: September 1, 2023
n-Butanol partitioning and phase behavior in DPPC/DOPC membranes
Yogi Kurniawan1, Keerthi P Venkataramanan, Carmen Scholz
1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Rhode Island, 16 Greenhouse Rd, Kingston, Rhode Island 02881, USA.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry. B
|May 2, 2012
Summary
This study reveals how n-butanol affects lipid membranes made of saturated (DPPC) and unsaturated (DOPC) lipids. DOPC influences n-butanol
Area of Science:
- Lipid bilayer membrane biophysics
- Phase behavior of lipid mixtures
- Membrane fluidization and perturbation
Background:
- Lipid membranes exhibit complex phase behaviors influenced by lipid composition and environmental factors.
- Understanding how different lipid types interact within a membrane is crucial for predicting its physical properties.
- n-Butanol is known to fluidize and perturb lipid bilayers, affecting their phase transitions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the phase behavior of heterogeneous membranes composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) in the presence of n-butanol.
- To determine the effect of unsaturated lipids (DOPC) on the n-butanol-induced interdigitation of saturated lipids (DPPC).
- To explore the partitioning of n-butanol in mixed lipid membranes with coexisting phase states.
Main Methods:
- Preparation of heterogeneous lipid membranes comprising DPPC and DOPC.
- Systematic variation of n-butanol concentration below and above the DPPC interdigitation threshold.
- Analysis of membrane phase behavior and fluidization using biophysical techniques (details not specified in abstract).
Main Results:
- DOPC did not alter the n-butanol concentration required for DPPC interdigitation (0.1-0.13 M), despite increasing n-butanol partitioning.
- In DPPC-rich membranes, a cooperative effect of DOPC and n-butanol eliminated the DPPC pretransition phase.
- Higher n-butanol concentrations (0.2 M) were needed for DPPC interdigitation when DOPC was the continuous phase, due to n-butanol localization at domain interfaces.
Conclusions:
- The interdigitation concentration of n-butanol in DPPC is largely independent of DOPC presence, even with increased partitioning.
- Mixed lipid compositions can lead to unique phase behaviors, such as the elimination of pretransition phases.
- The domain structure and lipid composition significantly influence n-butanol's interaction with and perturbation of lipid membranes.
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