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Short-range pressures between lipid bilayer membranes

Publication ,  Journal Article
McIntosh, TJ; Simon, SA
Published in: Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects
September 30, 1996

For many years a large, short-range repulsive interaction has been observed between a variety of hydrated surlaces. The physical origin of this ubiquitous interaction has been controversial. In the case of lipid bilayers, proposed mechanisms include a hydration pressure, due to water polarization and/or hydrogen-bond reorientation by the bilayer surface, and several types of entropic (steric) pressures, due to motion of individual lipid molecules or undulations of the entire bilayer. This review focuses on a number of recent osmotic stress/X-ray diffraction experiments performed with phosphatidylcholine bilayers designed to determine the distance range where each of these pressures dominates. At very short interbilayer separations (less than about 4 Å), the pressure-distance curve depends on the volume fraction of head groups at the interface, indicating the presence of a large steric barrier arising from direct interactions between head groups from opposing bilayers. The range of this steric pressure can be increased by the addition of lipids with larger head groups, such as glycolipids or lipids with covalently attached polymers (polyethylene glycol lipids). For intermediate interbilayer separations (about 4-10 Å), the pressure-distance curves are similar for liquid-crystalline and crystalline phosphatidylcholine bilayers, the pressure-fluid spacing relationship is nearly independent of temperature, and the magnitude of the pressure depends on the dipole potential. In this range of fluid spacings we argue that the pressure can be best accounted for by a hydration pressure. For interbilayer spacing greater than about 10 Å, the magnitude and range of the observed pressure depend on temperature and on the bending modulus of the bilayer. These observations provide compelling evidence for the presence of a longer-range undulation pressure, that markedly influences the hydration properties of phospholipid bilayers.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects

DOI

ISSN

0927-7757

Publication Date

September 30, 1996

Volume

116

Issue

3

Start / End Page

251 / 268

Related Subject Headings

  • Chemical Physics
  • 51 Physical sciences
  • 40 Engineering
  • 34 Chemical sciences
  • 09 Engineering
  • 03 Chemical Sciences
  • 02 Physical Sciences
 

Citation

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MLA
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McIntosh, T. J., & Simon, S. A. (1996). Short-range pressures between lipid bilayer membranes. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 116(3), 251–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/0927-7757(96)03569-8
McIntosh, T. J., and S. A. Simon. “Short-range pressures between lipid bilayer membranes.” Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 116, no. 3 (September 30, 1996): 251–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/0927-7757(96)03569-8.
McIntosh TJ, Simon SA. Short-range pressures between lipid bilayer membranes. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects. 1996 Sep 30;116(3):251–68.
McIntosh, T. J., and S. A. Simon. “Short-range pressures between lipid bilayer membranes.” Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, vol. 116, no. 3, Sept. 1996, pp. 251–68. Scopus, doi:10.1016/0927-7757(96)03569-8.
McIntosh TJ, Simon SA. Short-range pressures between lipid bilayer membranes. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects. 1996 Sep 30;116(3):251–268.
Journal cover image

Published In

Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects

DOI

ISSN

0927-7757

Publication Date

September 30, 1996

Volume

116

Issue

3

Start / End Page

251 / 268

Related Subject Headings

  • Chemical Physics
  • 51 Physical sciences
  • 40 Engineering
  • 34 Chemical sciences
  • 09 Engineering
  • 03 Chemical Sciences
  • 02 Physical Sciences