Phase behaviour of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC)-cholesterol membranes

Abstract

We have determined the phase behaviour of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine(DPPC)-cholesterol mixtures from small angle x-ray diffraction studies oforiented multilayers. A cholesterol induced modulated phase, denoted asPβ, is obtained at intermediate cholesterol concentrations, which is distinct from the ripple() phase found in earlier studies on similar systems. We also report some confocalfluorescence microscopy observations on giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) made from thesemixtures.