Biomaterial Database

Cholesterol/phospholipid interactions in hybrid bilayer membranes. 2007

Dustin Levy, and Kimberly A Briggman

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, MS8443, Gaithersburg, MD, USA.

The interactions between cholesterol and saturated phospholipids in hybrid bilayer membranes (HBMs) were investigated using the interface-sensitive technique of vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy (VSFS). The unique sensitivity of VSFS to order/disorder transitions of the lipid acyl chains was used to determine the main gel to liquid crystal phase transition temperature, Tm, for HBMs of binary cholesterol/phospholipid mixtures on octadecanethiolate self-assembled monolayers. The phase transition temperature and the breadth of the transition were shown to increase with cholesterol content, and the phase boundaries observed in the cholesterol/phospholipid HBMs were comparable to the published phase diagrams of binary cholesterol/phospholipid vesicles. A thermodynamic assessment of the cooperative units of the HBM phase transitions revealed the presence of <10 nm diameter domains that were independent of the cholesterol composition.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008051	Lipid Bilayers	Layers of lipid molecules which are two molecules thick. Bilayer systems are frequently studied as models of biological membranes.	Bilayers, Lipid,Bilayer, Lipid,Lipid Bilayer
D010743	Phospholipids	Lipids containing one or more phosphate groups, particularly those derived from either glycerol (phosphoglycerides see GLYCEROPHOSPHOLIPIDS) or sphingosine (SPHINGOLIPIDS). They are polar lipids that are of great importance for the structure and function of cell membranes and are the most abundant of membrane lipids, although not stored in large amounts in the system.	Phosphatides,Phospholipid
D002784	Cholesterol	The principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in animal fats and oils.	Epicholesterol
D006358	Hot Temperature	Presence of warmth or heat or a temperature notably higher than an accustomed norm.	Heat,Hot Temperatures,Temperature, Hot,Temperatures, Hot
D044367	Phase Transition	A change of a substance from one form or state to another.	Gas-Liquid-Solid Phase Transitions,Sol-Gel Phase Transition,Gas Liquid Solid Phase Transitions,Gas-Liquid-Solid Phase Transition,Phase Transition, Gas-Liquid-Solid,Phase Transition, Sol-Gel,Phase Transitions,Phase Transitions, Gas-Liquid-Solid,Phase Transitions, Sol-Gel,Sol Gel Phase Transition,Sol-Gel Phase Transitions,Transition, Gas-Liquid-Solid Phase,Transition, Sol-Gel Phase,Transitions, Gas-Liquid-Solid Phase,Transitions, Sol-Gel Phase
D050866	Liquid Crystals	Materials in intermediate state between solid and liquid.	Liquid Crystalline Materials,Mesomorphous Phase Materials,Crystal, Liquid,Crystals, Liquid,Liquid Crystal,Material, Mesomorphous Phase,Materials, Mesomorphous Phase,Mesomorphous Phase Material