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Molecular organization of cholesterol in polyunsaturated phospholipid membranes: a solid state 2 H NMR investigation
Author(s) -
Brzustowicz Michael R.,
Stillwell William,
Wassall Stephen R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(99)00567-0
Subject(s) - intercalation (chemistry) , phospholipid , membrane , sterol , tilt (camera) , crystallography , chemistry , cholesterol , inorganic chemistry , biochemistry , mechanical engineering , engineering
We compared the molecular organization of equimolar [3α‐ 2 H 1 ]cholesterol in 18:0‐18:1PC (1‐stearoyl‐2‐oleoylphosphatidylcholine), 18:0‐22:6PC (1‐stearoyl‐2‐docosahexaenoylphosphatidylcholine), 18:0‐20:4PC (1‐stearoyl‐2‐arachidonylphosphatidylcholine) and 20:4‐20:4PC (1,2‐diarachidonylphosphatidylcholine) bilayers by solid state 2 H NMR. Essentially identical quadrupolar splittings (Δν r =45±1 kHz) corresponding to the same molecular orientation characterized by tilt angle α 0 =16±1° were measured in 18:0‐18:1PC, 18:0‐22:6PC and 18:0‐20:4PC. A profound difference in molecular interaction with dipolyunsaturated 20:4‐20:4PC, in contrast, is indicated for the sterol. Specifically, the tilt angle α 0 =22±1° (derived from Δν r =37±1 kHz) is greater and its membrane intercalation is only 15 mol%.