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. 1983 Sep;80(18):5795–5797. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.18.5795

X-ray diffraction by phospholipid monolayers on single-crystal silicon substrates

M Seul *, P Eisenberger †, Harden M McConnell *,‡
PMCID: PMC384347  PMID: 16593374

Abstract

Monolayers of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine have been transferred from an air-water interface to single-crystal silicon wafers previously alkylated with octadecyltrichlorosilane. By using synchrotron radiation it has been found possible to observe diffraction by single-crystal regions of these monolayers with negligible background scattering from the solid substrate. In one series of experiments, diffraction signals at Bragg spacings of 0.4247 ± 0.0002 nm and 0.4253 ± 0.0002 nm were observed. The supported phospholipid monolayer crystals show remarkably high in-plane order: the positional coherence length is at least 500 nm and the orientational order is better than 0.01°. Preliminary temperature scans were carried out. The data reveal the existence of a phase transition at about 65°C.

Keywords: membranes, synchrotron radiation, phase transitions in two dimensions, long-range order, lipid structure

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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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