Abstract
The flourescence decay profiles recorded with pyrene and with the florescence quenching process between diphenylhexatriene and 12-doxylstearic acid methyl ester in small unilamellar vesicles of dipalmitoylphos-phatidylglycerol and l-α-phosphatidyglycerol have been analyzed with a model appropriate for reactions in restricted geometries. Measurements were made both in the gel and in the liquid crystalline phase, either by changing temperature or by changing the composition of a phospholipid mixture. We have found that in the gel phase, the reactions are more restricted, that is, they proceed more locally than in the liquid crystalline phase. The number of solubilization sites available to the reactants is much larger in the liquid crystalline phase than in the gel phase for pyrene, and it is much larger, tending to infinity, for the diphenylhexatriene quencher couple. The probability of an immediate encounter between two reactants decreases from the gel to the liquid crystalline phase and as the temperature increases. In a short time scale of observation, the rate of the diffusion-controlled reaction increases with temperatur phase. However, when the time scale is large, long-distance diffusion, even in the liquid crystal-line phase and at high temperature, is impossible.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have