Solid-state NMR study of trehalose/1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine interactions

31P and 2H solid-state NMR studies of dry trehalose (TRE) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) mixtures are reported. 31P spectra are consistent with a rigid head group above and below the calorimetric phase transition for both dry DPPC and a dry 2:1 TRE/DPPC mixture. In addition, 2H spectra of DPPC labeled at the 7-position of the sn-2 chain (2[7,7-2H2]DPPC) show exchange-narrowed line shapes with a width of 120 kHz over the temperature range 25-75 degrees C. These line shapes can be simulated with a model involving two-site jumps of the deuteron. In contrast, the 2H NMR spectrum of a dry 2:1 TRE/2[7,7-2H2]DPPC mixture above the phase transition (Tc = 46 degrees C) is narrowed by a factor of approximately 4 to a width of 29 kHz. Simulation of this spectrum requires a model involving four-site jumps of the deuteron and is indicative of highly disordered lipid acyl chains similar to those found in the L alpha-phases of hydrated lipids. Thus, TRE/DPPC mixtures above their transition temperatures exist in a new type of liquid crystalline like phase, which we term a lambda-phase. The observation of the dynamic properties of this new phase indicates the mechanism by which anhydrobiotic organisms maintain the integrity of their membranes upon dehydration.