Influence of Molecular Conformation on the Solid State Packing of 1,2-Diglycerides Study of 1,2-Dipalmitin and Some Structural Analogs by Electron Diffraction, X-Ray Diffraction, and Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

Abstract Diffraction studies on natural 1,2-dipalmitin and on analogs, including those based on the configurational isomers of cyclopentane-1,2,3-triol reveal that the 1,2-diglycerides crystallize from solvent with chain methylene packing identical to the monoclinic form of even-chain alkanes. The chains probably are folded back in “hairpin” fashion as found in phospholipid crystal structures. Acyl shifts are observed to occur in the crystalline solid state at room temperature to give the 1,3-diglyceride. Analogs based on the above-mentioned cyclitols show that isomers with adjacent chains trans to the ring (possibly extended chain packing) or with chains cis to the ring (“hair­ pin”) crystallize readily. Both possibly extended chain configurational isomers have the α-form as well as β′-forms and a β-polymorph. The hairpin isomers each give a β′-polymorph but only the all-cts isomer gives an α-form.