The influence of additives on the nanoscopic dynamics of the phospholipid dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine.

The influence of additives on the molecular dynamics of the phospholipid dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) in its fully hydrated liquid crystalline phase was studied. Quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) was used to detect motions with dimensions of some Ångstroms on two different time scales, namely 60ps and 900ps. The effects of myristic acid, farnesol, cholesterol, and sodium glycocholate could consistently be explained on the basis of collective, flow-like motions of the phospholipid molecules. The influence of the additives on these motions was explained by packing effects, corresponding to the reduction of free volume. Cholesterol was found to decrease the mobility of DMPC seen on the 900ps time scale with increasing cholesterol content. In contrast, all other studied additives have no significant effect on the mobility.