title: Cooperative behavior of ganglioside molecules in model systems.
abstract: A concise discussion of the role of different geometrical conformational states in the process of self-assembling of gangliosides is given. The report focuses on the effects of the geometrical variations occurring in the head group region of gangliosides as reflected on the geometrical properties of the whole assembly. Collective phenomena happening at the water interfacial region are found to be coupled to the phase transition of the lipid moiety, that is, to the well-known order-disorder conformational transition involving the hydrophobic tails. The possible biological relevance of the head group bistability is envisaged.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Biochimica Medica, I.N.F.M., Università di Milano, Segrate, Italy.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brocca
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cantù
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Corti
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Del Favero
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raudino
mesh_terms: D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D005732:Gangliosides / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical
chemical_list: D005732:Gangliosides