The incorporation of DDT and related compounds into lecithin bilayers

Abstract

The incorporation of DDT and several analogs into the hydrophobic interior of lecithin bilayers has been monitored by observing the nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of the aromatic ring protons. A fluid bilayer interior was obligatory for the incorporation of the chemicals. The amount of the different compounds which can be taken up into the lipid in aqueous media varies significantly, and this difference is not related to the organic: aqueous partition coefficients of the analogs. The amount of DDT, the most nonpolar of the compounds studied, which could be incorporated into the bilayers was much lower than the levels of other, more water-soluble analogs.