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Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Assembly of Cell Mimicking Supported and Suspended Lipid Bilayer Models for the Study of Molecular Interactions
Published on: August 3, 2021
Aggregation behaviour of a single-chain, phenylene-modified bolalipid and its miscibility with classical
Simon Drescher1, Vasil M Garamus2, Christopher J Garvey3
1Institute of Pharmacy, Martin Luther University (MLU) Halle-Wittenberg, Wolfgang-Langenbeck-Str. 4, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany.
Abstract:
In the present work, we describe the synthesis of a single-chain, phenylene-modified bolalipid with two phosphocholine headgroups, PC-C18pPhC18-PC, using a Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction as a key step. The aggregation behaviour was studied as a function of temperature using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and small angle neutron scattering (SANS). We show that our new bolalipid self-assembles into nanofibres, which transform into flexible nanofibres at 27 °C and further to small elongated micelles at 45 °C. Furthermore, the miscibility of the bolalipid with bilayer-forming phosphatidylcholines (DMPC, DPPC, and DSPC) was investigated by means of DSC, TEM, FTIR, and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). We could show that the PC-C18pPhC18-PC is partially miscible with saturated phosphatidylcholines; however, closed lipid vesicles with an increased thermal stability were not found. Instead, bilayer fragments and disk-like aggregates are formed.
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