The different conformations of the glycerol region of crystalline acylglycerols.

From nearly 40 crystal structures of glycerolipids, accumulated during three decades, preferred structural features are now emerging regarding favored conformations of lipid molecules and the molecular arrangement at the surface of lipid assemblages. Comparisons with conformations of glycerolipid molecules in lipid-protein complexes and in dynamic systems, studied by spectroscopic methods and molecular modeling, show the general validity of these preferred solid-state conformations.