Investigation of phase transitions of lipids and lipid mixtures by sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry.

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Abstract
High sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry is applied to the study of the thermotropic behavior of mixtures of synthetic phospholipids in multilamellar aqueous suspensions. The systems dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine-dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine-distearoylphosphatidylcholine, and dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine-distearoylphosphatidylcholine, although definitely nonideal, exhibit essentially complete miscibility in both gel and liquid crystalline states, while the system dilauroylphosphatidylcholine-distearoylphosphatidylcholine is monotectic with lateral phase separation in the gel state. Comparison of the observed transition curves with theoretical curves calculated from the calorimetrically determined phase diagrams supports a literal interpretation of the phase diagrams.