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. 1989 Nov;56(5):869–876. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(89)82733-X

Translational diffusion and fluid domain connectivity in a two-component, two-phase phospholipid bilayer.

W L Vaz 1, E C Melo 1, T E Thompson 1
PMCID: PMC1280586  PMID: 2605301

Abstract

The two-dimensional connectivity is examined for mixed bilayers of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and distearoyl phosphatidylcholine (DSPC) as a function of composition and temperature at constant pressure using the fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) method. These phospholipid mixtures exhibit peritectic behavior with a large region in which both gel and liquid crystalline phases coexist. Dilauroyl phosphatidylethanolamine covalently linked through the amino function in its head group to the fluorescent nitrobenzodiazolyl group (NBD-DLPE) was used as the fluorescent probe in this study, because it was found to partition almost exclusively in the liquid crystalline phase. The results of these studies show the line of connectivity to be close to the liquidus line on the phase diagram over a rather broad range of concentrations. In this range, a gel phase comprising approximately 20% of the system disconnects a liquid crystalline phase comprising 80% of the system. The implications of this result are discussed for domain shape and the organization of biological membrane components.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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