Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Hybl.
We describe the use of the Priestle RIBBON program suite for the illustration of lipid bilayer packing. The hydrocarbon chains of lecithin-like molecules are representable by beta-sheet arrows. The lateral packing, packing across the bilayer midline and any twisting, bowing, or curling of the polymethylene chain are readily detectable.
The melting behavior of members of newly synthesized series of rac-1,2-diglycerides with substituted phenyl groups or a benzyl group on the 3-position was investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Solution crystallized samples had single melting temperatures, higher than those of the quenched or annealed specimens. Quenched samples exhibited polymorphic behavior; some melted and recrystallized during slow heating. This behavior is similar to that of lecithins and suggests that X-ray diffraction studies of the substituted diglycerides may be useful for understanding membrane structure and functions.
Ethylene di-11-bromoundecanoate, C(24)H(44)Br(2)O(4), was synthesized as a model for the hydrophobic moiety of saturated phospholipids. The crystals are monoclinic, space group P2(1)/a, with two molecules per unit cell. Unlike folded configurations proposed for phospholipids in biological membranes, the hydrocarbon chains of this diester are fully extended in the crystalline state.
The single crystal x-ray structure of racemic glycerol 1,2-(di-11bromoundecanoate)-3-(p-toluenesulfonate), a sulfolipid analogous to the membrane phospholipids, reveals a folded conformation.
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