Fluorescence depolarization studies of phase transitions and fluidity in phospholipid bilayers. 2 Two-component...

The fluorescence deplorarization associated with the hydrophobic fluorescent probe 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene is used to monitor changes in fluidity accompanying the gel-liquid crystalline phase transition in phosphatidylcholine dispersions. In this way, the parameters of the phase transition are determined for both large, multilamellar liposomes and small, single-lamellar vesicles composed of three mixtures of phosphatidycholines: dimyristoyl-dipalmitoyl, dimyristoyl-distearoyl, and dioleyl-dipalmitoyl. Phase diagrams for these mixed-lipid vesicles are constructed by plotting the delimiting temperatures of the phase transition vs. the lipid compostion of the vesicle. The phase diagrams are interpreted to suggest that the miscibilities of the lipids studied are markedly different in small, single-lamellar vesicles and large multilamellar liposomes. These results are discussed in terms of the effects of high curvature on the structure of biological membranes.