title: Dependence of liquid crystal morphology on phospholipid hydrocarbon length.
abstract: The liquid crystal morphologies of symmetrical diacy phosphatidylcholine liposomes examined in this research study were found to be dependent on saturated hydrocarbon chain length. Both powder X-ray diffraction and synchrotron mid-IR spectromicroscopy indicate that phosphatidylcholines with short hydrocarbon tails (i.e. ten and twelve carbons) are more likely to form unilamellar liposomes while those with long hydrocarbon tails (i.e. eighteen and twenty carbons) are more likely to form multilamellar liposomes. Hydrocarbon chain lengths of fourteen and sixteen represent a transitional zone between these two liquid crystal morphologies. The FTIR spectra where a shoulder develops on the peak at wavenumber 1750 cm(-1) particularly highlights the change in the packing of adjacent molecules in the transitional zone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Bioproduct Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Rutherford
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Low
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Borondics
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pedersen
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: D055119:Elastic Modulus; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry; D050866:Liquid Crystals / Q000737:chemistry*; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000737:chemistry; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D011208:Powders; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014783:Viscosity; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D006838:Hydrocarbons; D008081:Liposomes; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010743:Phospholipids; D011208:Powders