A lamellar complex of lecithin and poly-L-tyrosine

Complexes of poly-L-tyrosine (PT) with dipalmitoyllecithin, synthetic, (DPL) and with egg lecithin (EL) have been obtained by precipitation from methanol-water solutions. Chemical analysis indicates that both lecithins bind PT up to a limiting ratio of about 4 tyrosine residues/lecithin molecule. DPL-PT complexes have a lamellar structure closely resembling lecithin itself. In fact, DPL and DPL-PT lamellae have very nearly the same thickness as precipitated from methanol-water, although their swelling behavior on resuspension in pure water is different. The complexes crystallize in the form of hexagonal platelets, some monolayers and some with terraced spiral growths, with a thickness of 50-55 A. In X-ray and electron diffraction they yield sharp reflections at 4.14 A which are characteristic of hexagonal packing of phospholipid paraffinic chains. The order-disorder transition temperature of this crystalline lattice, determined by differential scanning calorimetry, is somewhat higher in the complex than in pure DPL. Physical models consistent with these observations are discussed.