Molecular Packing in Langmuir Monolayers Composed of a Phosphatidylcholine and a Pyrene Lipid

J Phys Chem B. 2016 Feb 18;120(6):1126-33. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5b11836. Epub 2016 Feb 9.

Abstract

Pyrene lipids are useful tools to investigate membrane organization and intracellular lipid trafficking. The molecular interactions controlling the organization of lipid monolayers composed of a cationic amphiphile tagged with a pyrene residue and a saturated or unsaturated phospholipid, namely, 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine and 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, were investigated by Langmuir trough isotherms to understand how the molecular structure of the components and their relative amount affect the physicochemical properties of lipid monolayers. The obtained results show that the cationic headgroups and unsaturation of hydrophobic chains strongly affect the organization of the lipid monolayer as a function of the amount of components. On the other hand, the presence of the pyrene moiety does not seem to have a marked influence on the interaction within lipid assembly.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Lipids / chemistry*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Phosphatidylcholines / chemistry*
  • Pyrenes / chemistry*

Substances

  • Lipids
  • Phosphatidylcholines
  • Pyrenes
  • pyrene