Properties of unusual phospholipids: I. Synthesis, monolayer investigations and calorimetry of diacylglycerophosphocholines containing monoacetylenic acyl chains

Effect of the fluorination degree of hydrophobic chains on the monolayer behavior of unsaturated diacylphosphatidylcholines bearing partially fluorinated 9-octadecynoyl (stearoloyl) groups at the air-water interface

The effect of the fluorination degree of hydrophobic chains on the monolayer behavior of unsaturated diacylphosphatidylcholines (PCs) was examined by employing a series of PCs bearing partially fluorinated 9-octadecynoyl (stearoloyl) groups (DFnStPCs, n: the number of fluorinated carbon atoms in a stearoloyl group; n=1, 2, 4, 8), including their hydrophobic parts--partially fluorinated stearolic acids (FnStAs)--at the air-water interface. π-A isotherm measurements and Brewster angle microscope observations revealed: (i) all DFnStPCs including FnStAs form monolayers of liquid character at 25 °C; (ii) they form more expanded monolayers than their non-fluorinated counterparts, distearoloyl-PC (DStPC) and stearolic acid, while the monolayer stability increases with n; (iii) compared with DStPC and DF8StPC, DFnStPCs (n=1, 2, 4) in the low-π region tend to show a weakening in their self-aggregation property and an increase in the work required for monolayer compression; (iv) although DF8StPC forms the most expanded monolayer, the behavior of DF8StPC resembles that of DStPC rather than that of DFnStPCs (n=1, 2, 4). The monolayer behavior of DFnStPCs (n=1, 2, 4) is explained by postulating a flatly-lying conformation of hydrophobic chains, in which three polar parts (ester group, triple bond, CF2-CH2 linkage) in chains are immersed in the subphase at large areas. DStPC and DF8StPC lacking a CF2-CH2 linkage, however, do not likely adopt such a conformation.

Solid-state NMR and FTIR studies on bilayer membranes from 1,2- dioctadec-(14-ynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine

Multilamellar dispersions from a new model phospholipid, 1, 2-dioctadec-(14-ynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DO(14-yne)PC), bearing a triple bond in the fatty acid chains are studied by (2)H, (31)P NMR and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The investigations are focused on the evaluation of the molecular properties of the lipid molecules as function of temperature and sample composition. Information about the fatty acid chain conformations are obtained from FTIR measurements by analysing the CH(2) wagging and stretching modes. (2)H NMR studies are performed on two selectively deuterated compounds that provide further insights into the molecular characteristics at two specific positions along the fatty acid chains. These studies demonstrate that the introduction of the triple bond is accompanied by a reduction of fatty acid chain order which holds for both the conformational and the orientational order. Likewise, (31)P NMR spectroscopy is used for the determination of the dynamics and ordering in the head group region. Here, particular emphasis is given to the evaluation of the lipid lateral motions that are quantified over a large temperature range within the liquid crystalline phase. It is found that the lateral mobility of the lipid molecules is almost unaffected by the triple bond in the fatty acid chains. The addition of cholesterol gives rise to a reduction in lateral mobility for DO(14-yne)PC, as can be followed by spin echo, 2D-exchange NMR and stimulated echo experiments.