Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.623, No.1, 113-118, 2015
Mixtures of Thermotropic Mesogens as Components of Model DPPC Membranes: Effects of Intermolecular Interactions on Phase Transitions
Thermotropic mesogens of different chemical nature - 4-pentyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (5CB), azoxy nematic ZhK-440, and cholesteryl oleyl carbonate (COC) were introduced as dopants to hydrated DPPC, with their effects on phase transitions recorded by DSC. When mesogen pairs (5CB + ZhK-440 and 5CB + COC) were added at constant total concentration, dependence of transition temperature to L-alpha phase on 5CB concentration was linear for COC and nonlinear for ZhK-440, with effects of cyanobiphenyl-azoxybenzene charge transfer complexes manifested in both types of mesophases. Such dual doping of hydrated DPPC allows modeling of drug-membrane interactions in the case of joint application of different drugs.
Keywords:Differential scanning calorimetry;intermolecular interaction;liquid crystal mixtures;lyotropic mesophases;phase transitions;phospholipid model membranes