Tetiana Mukhina1, Gerald Brezesinski2, Chen Shen3, Emanuel Schneck4. 1. Institute for Condensed Matter Physics, TU Darmstadt, Hochschulstraße 8, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany. Electronic address: tetiana.mukhina@pkm.tu-darmstadt.de. 2. Institute for Condensed Matter Physics, TU Darmstadt, Hochschulstraße 8, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany. Electronic address: gerald.brezesinski@pkm.tu-darmstadt.de. 3. Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany. Electronic address: chen.shen@desy.de. 4. Institute for Condensed Matter Physics, TU Darmstadt, Hochschulstraße 8, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany. Electronic address: emanuel.schneck@pkm.tu-darmstadt.de.
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS: Glycolipids in biological membranes are ubiquitous and believed to be involved in the formation of ordered functional domains. However, our current knowledge about such glycolipid-enriched domains is limited because they are inherently difficult to characterize. EXPERIMENTS: We use grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, isotherm measurements, and Brewster angle microscopy to investigate the phase behavior and miscibility in Langmuir lipid monolayers containing glycolipids. FINDINGS: Glycolipid-enriched domains give rise to distinct diffraction patterns that allow for a systematic structural investigation and reveal a rich phenomenology, ranging from near-complete demixing to the formation of mixed domains with unique features. The phase behavior is governed by the headgroup chemistry and by the length and saturation of the tails.
HYPOTHESIS: Glycolipids in biological membranes are ubiquitous and believed to be involved in the formation of ordered functional domains. However, our current knowledge about such glycolipid-enriched domains is limited because they are inherently difficult to characterize. EXPERIMENTS: We use grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction, isotherm measurements, and Brewster angle microscopy to investigate the phase behavior and miscibility in Langmuir lipid monolayers containing glycolipids. FINDINGS: Glycolipid-enriched domains give rise to distinct diffraction patterns that allow for a systematic structural investigation and reveal a rich phenomenology, ranging from near-complete demixing to the formation of mixed domains with unique features. The phase behavior is governed by the headgroup chemistry and by the length and saturation of the tails.