Temperature dependence of formation of a supported phospholipid bilayer from vesicles on SiO2.

Adsorption of egg-phosphatidylcholine vesicles and bilayer formation on a SiO2 surface was investigated in the temperature range 278-303 K using the quartz crystal microbalance-dissipation technique. The critical coverage for the vesicle-->bilayer transition is found to decrease with increasing temperature. The temperature dependence of the time-scale characterizing this transition can be represented in the Arrhenius form. Higher temperatures produce a bilayer with fewer trapped, nonruptured vesicles.