Biophysical Journal 61: 1036-1040 (1992)
© 1992 the Biophysical Society

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Analysis of the bilayer phase transition temperatures of phosphatidylcholines with mixed chains

Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Abteilung Spektroskopie, D-3400 Göttingen, Germany

ABSTRACT

The analysis of the chain-length dependence of the chain-melting transition temperatures of bilayers composed of lipids with identical chains (Marsh, D. 1991. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 1062: 1-6) is extended to include lipids with chains of unequal length. The bilayer transition temperatures of saturated asymmetrical phosphatidylcholines are interpreted by assuming that the transition enthalpy and transition entropy are linearly related to the absolute value of the difference in chain length between the sn-1 and sn-2 chains, with constant end contributions. Such an assumption is supported by calorimetric data on phosphatidylcholines of constant mean chainlength and varying chain asymmetry. In particular, a symmetrical linear dependence is observed on the chain asymmetry, n, which is centered around a value n° that corresponds to the conformational inequivalence of the sn-1 and sn-2 chains. The transition temperature then takes the form: T_t = T_t(n - n_H - h' | n + n° |)/(n - n_s - s' | n + n°) where n_H, n_s are the end contributions, and h', s' are fractional deficits in the incremental transition enthalpy and entropy, respectively, arising from the overlapping regions of the longer chains. Optimization on the transition temperature data for the dependence on chain asymmetry of three series of phosphatidylcholines with constant mean chainlength, n, yields parameters that are capable of predicting the dependence of the transition temperatures on chain asymmetry for other mean chainlengths. The dependence of the transition temperature on mean chainlength for phosphatidylcholines in which the chain asymmetry is maintained constant, as well as the dependence on both mean chain length and chain asymmetry for phosphatidylcholines in which one of the two chains is maintained of constant length, are also described with high accuracy by using the same parameters.