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Updated: May 7, 2026

Fluorescence Recovery after Merging a Droplet to Measure the Two-dimensional Diffusion of a Phospholipid Monolayer
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Do crowded phospholipid monolayers remain fluid?

Damian Renggli1, Maria Clara Novaes-Silva1, Demetrios Laios1

  • 1Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
|May 5, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Mimicking crowded interfaces with mixed lipid layers reveals how phase separation affects phospholipid monolayer dynamics. This work offers insights into membrane fluidity and jamming in crowded biological systems.

Keywords:
interfacial rheologyphospholipid bilayersphospholipid monolayers

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Phospholipid monolayers exhibit fluid and solid-like phases.
  • Mimicking crowded biological interfaces is crucial for understanding membrane dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate phase separation in mixed lipid monolayers.
  • To understand the impact of lipid composition on interfacial properties.
  • To explore the dynamics of crowded phospholipid interfaces.

Main Methods:

  • Creating mixed lipid layers with varying dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dioleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) ratios.
  • Utilizing temperature-induced phase separation.
  • Employing interfacial rheology to measure viscoelastic responses.

Main Results:

  • Phase separation occurs upon cooling, controlled by lipid composition.
  • DPPC-rich monolayers show strong viscoelasticity at physiological conditions.
  • Mixed monolayers exhibit viscosity scaling with liquid-condensed (LC) phase fraction, behaving like disc suspensions.
  • Deviations from hard-disc models suggest preserved interface fluidity.

Conclusions:

  • Phase coexistence in mixed lipid monolayers mitigates hydrodynamic jamming.
  • This mechanism may be vital for maintaining membrane fluidity in crowded biological states.
  • The study provides a model for understanding crowded membrane dynamics.