Determination of partition coefficient of spin probe between different lipid membrane phases.

Model lipid membranes made from binary mixtures of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine/dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC/DPPC) and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine/cholesterol (DMPC/Chol) exhibit coexistence of diverse lipid phases at appropriate temperature and composition. Since lipids in different phases show different structural and motional properties, it is expected that the corresponding spin probe electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra will be superposition of several spectral components. From comparison of proportions of spectral components of the EPR spectrum with the fractions of the corresponding lipid phases obtained from known phase diagrams the partition coefficient of spin probe methyl ester of 5-doxyl palmitate between different lipid phases was determined. The results indicate that the used spin probe partitions approximately equally between different phases.