title: Alamethicin influence on the membrane bending elasticity.
abstract: We investigate the bending elasticity of lipid membranes with the increase of the alamethicin concentrations in the membrane via analysis of the thermally induced shape fluctuations of quasi-spherical giant vesicles. Our experimental results prove the strong influence of alamethicin molecules on the bending elasticity of diphytanoyl phosphatidylcholine and dilauroyl phosphatidylcholine membranes even in the range of very low peptide concentrations (less than 10(-3) mol/mol in the membrane). The results presented in this work, testify to the peripheral orientation of alamethicin molecules at low peptide concentrations in the membrane for both types of lipid bilayers. An upper limit of the concentration of the peptide in the membrane is determined below which the system behaves as an ideal two-dimensional solution and the peptide molecules have a planar orientation in the membrane.
authors.affiliation: Liquid Crystal Laboratory, Institute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tzarigradsko Chaussee Blvd., 1784 Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vitkova
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Méléard
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pott
authors.forename: Isak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bivas
mesh_terms: D000408:Alamethicin / Q000737:chemistry; D016880:Anisotropy; D004548:Elasticity; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000737:chemistry; D013500:Surface Tension; D013696:Temperature; D053835:Unilamellar Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D053835:Unilamellar Liposomes; D014867:Water; C015153:1,2-dilauroylphosphatidylcholine; D000408:Alamethicin; C021016:1,2-diphytanoylphosphatidylcholine