Magnetically Aligned Phospholipid Bilayers with Positive Ordering: A New Model Membrane System

AbstractA stable smectic phospholipid bilayer phase aligned with the director parallel to the magnetic field can be generated by the addition of certain trivalent paramagnetic lanthanide ions to a bicellar solution of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dihexanoylphosphatidylcholine (DHPC) in water. Suitable lanthanide ions are those with positive anisotropy of their magnetic susceptibility, namely Eu3+, Er3+, Tm3+, and Yb3+. For samples doped with Tm3+, this phase extends over a wide range of Tm3+ concentrations (6–40mM) and temperatures (35–90°C) and appears to undergo a transition from a fluid nematic discotic to a fluid, but highly ordered, smectic phase at a temperature that depends on the thulium concentration. As a membrane mimetic, these new, positively ordered phospholipid phases have high potential for structural studies using a variety of techniques such as magnetic resonance (EMR and NMR), small-angle x-ray and neutron diffraction, as well as optical and infrared spectroscopy