Surface area per molecule in lipid/C12E n membranes as seen by fluorescence resonance energy transfer.

Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from NBD-PE to rhodamine-PE has been used to measure the average area occupied by surfactant molecules in lipid bilayers. The Foerster radius has been determined from the spectral overlap of donor fluorescence and acceptor absorption (R 0=4.6 nm). The results of steady-state as well as of time-resolved investigations have been compared. The analysis of time-resolved fluorescence data by means of nonexponential decay functions yields an average area per lipid of 0.65 nm(2) in pure POPC bilayers. The area per surfactant in two-component C12E n /POPC-membranes (n=2, 4, 6) has been determined and compared with the results of X-ray investigations. The surfactant head group seems to adapt a predominantly disordered confirmation within the bilayer.