Transition State Thermodynamics of Lipid Bilayers Characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry

TCE

The Chemical Educator

ISSN: 1430-4171 (electronic version)

Table of Contents

Abstract Volume 2 Issue 6 (1997), S1430-4171(97)06154-1

Transition State Thermodynamics of Lipid Bilayers Characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry

Toni L. Ceckler* and Beth A. Cunningham

Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837

Published online: 24 December 1997

Abstract. The laboratory experiment presented in this paper focuses on using differential scanning calorimetry to determine the calorimetric enthalpy and cooperativity of the gel to-liquid-crystalline phase transition in hydrated lipid bilayers as a function of cholesterol content. The procedure and analysis are appropriate for junior- and senior-level physics and biophysical chemistry courses in the undergraduate curriculum. The laboratory is used to emphasize the use of thermodynamic data to obtain information about structure–function relationships in biological systems. The experimental results are directly related to the authors’ ongoing research in lipid bilayer structure characterization and applications of hydrated lipid bilayers as model systems for the interpretation of MRI contrast. The laboratory is easily modified to study the effects of other conditions, such as degree of hydration, pH, and composition, on the thermodynamic behavior of lipid bilayers.

Key Words: Laboratories and Demonstrations; thermodynamics; laboratory experiment; DSC

(*) Corresponding author. (E-mail: ceckler@bucknell.edu)

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