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Updated: Aug 30, 2025

Phase Behavior of Charged Vesicles Under Symmetric and Asymmetric Solution Conditions Monitored with Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: October 24, 2017
Partial Volumes of Phosphatidylcholines and Vitamin E: α-Tocopherol Prefers Disordered Membranes
Mitchell DiPasquale1, Michael H L Nguyen1, Georg Pabst2,3
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada.
Abstract:
Despite its discovery over 95 years ago, the biological and nutritional roles of vitamin E remain subjects of much controversy. Though it is known to possess antioxidant properties, recent assertions have implied that vitamin E may not be limited to this function in living systems. Through densitometry measurements and small-angle X-ray scattering we observe favorable interactions between α-tocopherol and unsaturated phospholipids, with more favorable interactions correlating to an increase in lipid chain unsaturation. Our data provide evidence that vitamin E may preferentially associate with oxygen sensitive lipids─an association that is considered innate for a viable membrane antioxidant.
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