Chemistry Letters, Vol.31, No.1, 50-51, 2002
New phase formation of dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol bilayer-assembly with sodium or ammonium ions: Gelation phenomena in the lamellar liquid crystals aged in water
The thermal properties of lamellar phases of dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol (DMPG) bilayer-assemblies with counter ions of Na+ and NH4+ are remarkably different. However, these lamellar phases of NaDMPG and NH(4)DMPG in water have been found to undergo a new gelation in common when they are aged for a couple of weeks below 40degreesC. The new gel phases named Gel-2 reversibly chan-e to the corresponding liquid crystal phases (LC-2) at transition temperatures (T-I) of 40degreesC for NaDMPG and 44degreesC for NH(4)DMPG, respectively.