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Localisation of partially deuterated cholesterol in quaternary SC lipid model membranes: a neutron diffraction study

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Abstract

This letter presents our first results in using the benefit of selective deuteration in neutron diffraction studies on stratum corneum (SC) lipid model systems. The SC represents the outermost layer of the mammalian skin and exhibits the main skin barrier. It is essential for studying drug penetration through the SC to know the internal structure and hydration behaviour on the molecular level. The SC intercellular matrix is mainly formed by ceramides (CER), cholesterol (CHOL) and long- chain free fatty acids (FFA). Among them, CHOL is the most abundant individual lipid, but a detailed knowledge about its localisation in the SC lipid matrix is still lacking. The structure of the quaternary SC lipid model membranes composed of either CER[AP]/CHOL-D6/palmitic acid (PA)/cholesterol sulphate (ChS) or CER[AP]/CHOL-D7/PA/ChS is characterized by neutron diffraction. Neutron diffraction patterns from the oriented samples are collected at the V1 diffractometer of the Hahn-Meitner-Institute, Berlin, measured at 32°C, 60% humidity and at different D2O contents. The neutron scattering length density profile in the direction normal to the surface is restored by Fourier synthesis from the experimental diffraction patterns. The analysis of scattering length density profile is a suitable tool for investigating the internal structure of the SC lipid model membranes. The major finding is the experimental proof of the CHOL localisation in SC model membrane by deuterium labelling at prominent positions in the CHOL molecules.

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Abbreviations

CER[AP]:

N-(α-Hydroxyoctadecanoyl)-phytosphingosine

PA:

Palmitic acid

CHOL:

Cholesterol

ChS:

Cholesterol sulphate

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the Hahn-Meitner-Institute, Berlin, for the use of the V1 diffractometer and for financial assistance. Further we would like to thank the Graduiertenförderung des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt for funding.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Pharmacy, Martin-Luther University Halle/Wittenberg, Wolfgang-Langenbeck-Straße 4, 06120, Halle/Saale, Germany

    Doreen Kessner & Reinhard H. H. Neubert

  2. Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna, Russia

    Mikhail A. Kiselev

  3. Hahn-Meitner-Institute, Berlin, Germany

    Thomas Hauß & Silvia Dante

  4. Physical Biochemistry, Department of Chemistry, Darmstadt University of Technology, Darmstadt, Germany

    Thomas Hauß

  5. Institute of Applied Dermatopharmacy, MLU Halle, Halle, Germany

    Siegfried Wartewig

Authors
  1. Doreen Kessner
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  2. Mikhail A. Kiselev
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  3. Thomas Hauß
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  4. Silvia Dante
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  5. Siegfried Wartewig
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  6. Reinhard H. H. Neubert
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Correspondence to Reinhard H. H. Neubert.

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Kessner, D., Kiselev, M.A., Hauß, T. et al. Localisation of partially deuterated cholesterol in quaternary SC lipid model membranes: a neutron diffraction study. Eur Biophys J 37, 1051–1057 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00249-008-0265-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00249-008-0265-4

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