On the Formation of a Macroscopically Flat Phospholipid Membrane on a Hydrosol Substrate

TL;DR

This study investigates how phospholipid layers form on hydrosol substrates, revealing conditions under which a flat bilayer membrane develops, using X-ray reflectometry to analyze structural variations with NaOH concentration.

Contribution

It demonstrates the formation of a macroscopically flat phospholipid bilayer membrane on hydrosol surfaces at specific NaOH concentrations, using a model-independent X-ray analysis approach.

Findings

A flat bilayer membrane forms at ~0.5 mol/L NaOH.

Membrane thickness is approximately 60 Angstrom.

Molecular areas are 45-49 Angstrom^2 per lipid.

Abstract

The dependence of the structure of a phospholipid layer (DSPC and SOPC) adsorbed on a hydrosol substrate on the concentration of NaOH in a solution of 5-nm silica particles has been studied by X-ray reflectrometry with the use of synchrotron radiation. Profiles of the electron density (polarizability) have been reconstructed from the experimental data within a model-independent approach. According to these profiles, the thickness of the lipid film can vary from a monolayer (~ 35 Angstrom) to several bilayers (~ 450 Angstrom). At the volume concentration of NaOH of ~ 0.5 mol/L, the film on the hydrosol surface is a macroscopically flat phospholipid membrane (bilayer) with a thickness of ~ 60 Angstrom and with areas of 45 +/- 2 and 49 +/- 3 Angstrom^2 per DSPC and SOPC molecule, respectively.