Morphology and structures in double-, triple- and quadruple-chain phospholipid monolayers at the air/water interface

The structure of double-, triple- and quadruple-chain phospholipid monolayers has been studied by Synchrotron x-ray diffraction. The double-chain mixed- linkage species exhibit an oblique structure at all pressures investigated. The triple-chain phospholipids show at lower lateral pressures a rectangular unit cell with a phase transition at higher pressures to a hexagonal packing of vertically arranged chains. The quadruple- chain lipid exhibits only the hexagonal phase structure. The position of the ether linkage and of the branched chain on the glycerol backbone has also a strong influence on the monolayer structures. Fluorescence microscopy shows different domain shapes for the different…