This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: biophysj.106.090118v1 91/9/3285    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Li, C. Articles by Salditt, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Li, C. Articles by Salditt, T.

Structure of Magainin and Alamethicin in Model Membranes Studied by X-Ray Reflectivity

Institute for X-Ray Physics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

Correspondence: Address reprint requests to T. Salditt, Tel.: 49-551-399-427; E-mail: tsaldit{at}gwdg.de.

We have investigated the structure of lipid bilayers containing varied molar ratios of different lipids and the antimicrobial peptides magainin and alamethicin. For this structural study, we have used x-ray reflectivity on highly aligned solid-supported multilamellar lipid membranes. The reflectivity curves have been analyzed by semi-kinematical reflectivity theory modeling the bilayer density profile (z). Model simulations of the reflectivity curves cover a large range of vertical momentum transfer q_z, and yield excellent agreement between data and theory. The structural changes observed as a function of the molar peptide/lipid concentration P/L are discussed in a comparative way.