title: The adsorption of nonpolar molecules into lipid bilayer membranes.
abstract: Thermodynamic considerations show that the adsorption of nonpolar molecules into lipid bilayer membranes should depend upon the curvature of the membranes. Estimations of the differences in adsorption of a small n-alkane between a planar phospholipid bilayer and liposomal vesicles have been attempted. For spherical multilamellar liposomes exposed to saturated solutions of alkane in water the adsorption is calculated to be 17-65% of the value for the planar bilayer, depending on the assumptions in the model.
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000473:Alkanes; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008081:Liposomes; D008433:Mathematics; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008081:Liposomes