Translational order in liquid-expanded lipid monolayers functionalized with nucleosides

Abstract:

The monolayer behavior of a lipid containing two unsaturated alkyl chains and a nucleoside derivative as polar headgroup has been investigated by the Langmuir technique. From the surface pressure vs. molecular area isotherm, the monolayer appears as a pure liquid-expanded phase and should be then considered as a two-dimensional liquid. However, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction experiments evidence a translational order that does not exist when the lipid headgroup is a choline moiety. Since unsaturated chains are expected to induce a fluid state of the monolayer at the temperature considered, this order is likely to originate from the natural tendency nucleosides have to establish among themselves -stacking interactions between the bases. The collected X-ray data are consistent with the geometrical requirements for bases stacking.