[Effect of peroxidation on the physical structure of phospholipid membranes]

Peroxidation of lipids caused rearrangements in physical structure of biomembranes as it was shown by a method of fluorescent probes. These structural rearrangements were accompanied by an increase in the viscosity on the surface and in the depth of the phospholipid bilayer. The increase in the viscosity was apparently due to oxidation and to elimination from the phospholipid bilayer of the unsaturated fatty acid residues. Presence of the unsaturated fatty acids in biomembranes decreases their viscosity. The fraction of saturated fatty acids after peroxidation was respectively increased in the bilayer.