Structure of the body-centered cubic phase of lipid systems.

A new model is proposed for the structure of the body-centered cubic phase of lipid systems. Infinite rods of polar groups (and water) are arranged with axes parallel to the four cubic [unk]1 1 1[unk] directions. The hydrocarbon chains fill the space between the rods to form a continuous matrix. With this unified topology, the model explains satisfactorily the x-ray diffraction patterns of strontium soaps, lecithin, galactolipids, potassium soaps, and hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide and explains the transition between cubic/H(II) phases. The paradoxical thermal effects on the lipid cubic phase, in particular the decrease of unit cell dimensions with increasing temperature, can be explained with the proposed model by mechanisms similar to those used for the monodimensional and bidimensional (mesomorphic) phases.