Palmitoyl carnitine can exist in lamellar and hexagonal phases.
Carnitine is a necessary cofactor for the transport of fatty acids across the inner mitochondrial membrane. The behaviour in a buffer solution of the acyl carnitine, palmitoyl carnitine, has been investigated. Palmitoyl carnitine is amphiphilic and resembles, in some structural respects, a lysolecithin. X-ray diffraction studies showed that palmitoyl carnitine in buffer at a low temperature formed a gel-phase bilayer with fully interdigitated hydrocarbon chains perpendicular to the bilayer surface. The bilayer thickness increased slightly as water content increased due to a reorientation of the carnitine portion. As temperature was increased a transition occurred to a hexagonal (H1) phase with buffer solution separating cylinders of palmitoyl carnitine. The transition occurred over a broad temperature range of approximately 20 degrees C.
Stinson
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Department of Physics, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
D002021:Buffers; D002331:Carnitine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002627:Chemistry, Physical; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008823:Micelles; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010172:Palmitoylcarnitine; D013696:Temperature
D002021:Buffers; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008823:Micelles; D010172:Palmitoylcarnitine; D002331:Carnitine