An infrared spectroscopic study of metastable and stable forms of hydrated cerebroside bilayers.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy has been used to study the stable and metastable forms of a range of cerebrosides in aqueous systems. The spectra provide evidence for different degrees of inter- and intra-molecular hydrogen bonding, involving principally the amide group, in these different states. A comparison has been made with the spectra of a cerebroside containing an alpha-hydroxyl group in the fatty acyl chain. This cerebroside does not show metastability and its hydrogen bonding characteristics are shown to be different.