2H-NMR comparative study of phosphocholine group conformation in bilayers composed of diacyl and dialkyl phosphatidylcholines.

Model membranes formed from 1,2-dihexadecyl-, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-, 1,2-ditetradecyl- or 1,2-dimyristoyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphocholine, deuterium-labelled at choline groups, in an excess of water were compared using 2H-NMR spectroscopy. The dynamics and conformation of the labelled choline segments were estimated based on spin-lattice relaxation time and residual quadrupole splittings. The trimethylammonium group of dialkyl phosphatidylcholine was shown to be more distant from the bilayer surface as compared with that of the diacyl analogues.