Deuterated fatty acids as Raman spectroscopic probes of membrane structure.
Raman spectra are reported for the C-D stretching region of stearic acid-d35 bound in egg lecithin multilayers. The temperature dependence of the spectra shows that the linewidth of the C-D stretching bands is a sensitive and non-perturbative probe of membrane hydrocarbon chain conformation. The utility of this approach for studying lipid conformation in membranes containing a significant fraction of non-lipid component is discussed.
D003903:Deuterium; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D013229:Stearic Acids; D013696:Temperature
D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D013229:Stearic Acids; D003903:Deuterium