Structure and orientational texture of self-organizing lipid bilayers.

The structure of single supported dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine bilayers prepared by vesicle fusion or Langmuir-Blodgett-Schaeffer (LBS) deposition techniques was characterized by x-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence diffraction in bulk water. LBS bilayers display symmetric leaflets similar to monolayer structures, while vesicle fusion yields more inhomogeneous bilayers. Diffraction establishes that lipids are always coupled across the bilayer even when leaflets are deposited independently and suggests the existence of orientational texture.