Purification and characterization of a liposomal-forming tetraether lipid fraction.
Polar lipid E, PLE, a native tetraether lipid mixture from Sulfolobus acidocaldarius is shown to spontaneously form multilamellar liposomes in aqueous media. PLE lipids were isolated as a single fraction from the crude lipid extract of S. acidocaldarius on a reverse-phase column followed by TLC and methanol precipitation. The methanol-precipitated mixture was able to form liposomes, whereas the non-precipitated material did not. It has thus been demonstrated, for the first time, that tetraether lipids from S. acidocaldarius can form liposomes, per se, in aqueous media.
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Geo-Centers, Newton Upper Falls, MA 02164.
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D005583:Fourier Analysis; D008055:Lipids / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008081:Liposomes; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet
D008055:Lipids; D008081:Liposomes