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. 1988 Aug;54(2):289–294. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(88)82958-8

Light Scattering Investigation of Electric Field Alignment of Phospholipid Tubules

Zili Li, Charles Rosenblatt, Paul Yager, Paul E Schoen
PMCID: PMC1330295  PMID: 19431727

Abstract

The polymerizable diacetylenic phospholipid 1,2-bis(10,12,tricosadiynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DC23PC) forms straight hollow cylinders in water. Using an ac electric field it was possible to achieve significant orientational alignment of the tubules parallel to the field direction, and from light scattering results deduce an effective dielectric susceptibility anisotropy ΔχE. Moreover, we suggest that the alignment arises from an orientational anisotropy of the total electrostatic enthalpy for a dielectric tubule in an electric field, rather than an inherent polarizability anisotropy of the constituent DC23PC molecules, as was the case with magnetic field alignment.

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Selected References

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