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Range of the solvation pressure between lipid membranes: dependence on the packing density of solvent molecules.

Publication ,  Journal Article
McIntosh, TJ; Magid, AD; Simon, SA
Published in: Biochemistry
September 19, 1989

Well-ordered multilamellar arrays of liquid-crystalline phosphatidylcholine and equimolar phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol bilayers have been formed in the nonaqueous solvents formamide and 1,3-propanediol. The organization of these bilayers and the interactions between apposing bilayer surfaces have been investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis of liposomes compressed by applied osmotic pressures up to 6 X 10(7) dyn/cm2 (60 atm). The structure of egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC) bilayers in these solvents is quite different than in water, with the bilayer thickness being largest in water, 3 A narrower in formamide, and 6 A narrower in 1,3-propanediol. The incorporation of equimolar cholesterol increases the thickness of EPC bilayers immersed in each solvent, by over 10 A in the case of 1,3-propanediol. The osmotic pressures of various concentrations of the neutral polymer poly(vinylpyrrolidone) dissolved in formamide or 1,3-propanediol have been measured with a custom-built membrane osmometer. These measurements are used to obtain the distance dependence of the repulsive solvation pressure between apposing bilayer surfaces. For each solvent, the solvation pressure decreases exponentially with distance between bilayer surfaces. However, for both EPC and EPC-cholesterol bilayers, the decay length and magnitude of this repulsive pressure strongly depend on the solvent. The decay length for EPC bilayers in water, formamide, and 1,3-propanediol is found to be 1.7, 2.4, and 2.6 A, respectively, whereas the decay length for equimolar EPC-cholesterol bilayers in water, formamide, and 1,3-propanediol is found to be 2.1, 2.9, and 3.1 A, respectively. These data indicate that the decay length is inversely proportional to the cube root of the number of solvent molecules per unit volume.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Duke Scholars

Published In

Biochemistry

DOI

ISSN

0006-2960

Publication Date

September 19, 1989

Volume

28

Issue

19

Start / End Page

7904 / 7912

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • X-Ray Diffraction
  • Solvents
  • Propylene Glycols
  • Phosphatidylcholines
  • Osmotic Pressure
  • Lipid Bilayers
  • Formamides
  • Electrons
  • Cholesterol
  • Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
 

Citation

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McIntosh, T. J., Magid, A. D., & Simon, S. A. (1989). Range of the solvation pressure between lipid membranes: dependence on the packing density of solvent molecules. Biochemistry, 28(19), 7904–7912. https://doi.org/10.1021/bi00445a053
McIntosh, T. J., A. D. Magid, and S. A. Simon. “Range of the solvation pressure between lipid membranes: dependence on the packing density of solvent molecules.Biochemistry 28, no. 19 (September 19, 1989): 7904–12. https://doi.org/10.1021/bi00445a053.
McIntosh TJ, Magid AD, Simon SA. Range of the solvation pressure between lipid membranes: dependence on the packing density of solvent molecules. Biochemistry. 1989 Sep 19;28(19):7904–12.
McIntosh, T. J., et al. “Range of the solvation pressure between lipid membranes: dependence on the packing density of solvent molecules.Biochemistry, vol. 28, no. 19, Sept. 1989, pp. 7904–12. Pubmed, doi:10.1021/bi00445a053.
McIntosh TJ, Magid AD, Simon SA. Range of the solvation pressure between lipid membranes: dependence on the packing density of solvent molecules. Biochemistry. 1989 Sep 19;28(19):7904–7912.
Journal cover image

Published In

Biochemistry

DOI

ISSN

0006-2960

Publication Date

September 19, 1989

Volume

28

Issue

19

Start / End Page

7904 / 7912

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • X-Ray Diffraction
  • Solvents
  • Propylene Glycols
  • Phosphatidylcholines
  • Osmotic Pressure
  • Lipid Bilayers
  • Formamides
  • Electrons
  • Cholesterol
  • Biochemistry & Molecular Biology