Biological and Soft Systems, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.
Nanoscale. 2012 Sep 28;4(19):5779-91. doi: 10.1039/c2nr31465g. Epub 2012 Aug 16.
Lipid crystallization is ubiquitous in nature, observed in biological structures as well as in commercial products and applications. In a dehydrated state most of the lipids form well ordered crystals, whereas in an aqueous environment they self-assemble into various crystalline, liquid crystalline or sometimes macroscopically disordered phases. Lipid self-organization extends further to hierarchical levels including structured emulsions and nanostructured particles. Many consumer products including cosmetics, foods and medicines account for such lipid architectures. Cell membranes primarily consist of planar lipid bilayers; however sub-cellular biomembranes are more of a convoluted type. Some of the biological entities have lipids in truly crystalline form; yet liquid crystalline lipid phases are prevalent, in general. Crystallization of fats - triglyceride lipids - has been relatively well documented and reviewed more often, but this review features other areas where lipid organization is crucial and diverse. Some recent advances along with a few explicit examples of model lipid phases and biological evidences are also reported.
脂质结晶在自然界中无处不在，既存在于生物结构中，也存在于商业产品和应用中。在脱水状态下，大多数脂质形成有序的晶体，而在水相环境中，它们自组装成各种结晶、液晶或有时宏观无序的相。脂质自组装进一步扩展到包括结构化乳液和纳米结构颗粒的层次结构。许多消费品，包括化妆品、食品和药品，都采用了这种脂质结构。细胞膜主要由平面脂质双层组成；然而，亚细胞生物膜则更为复杂。一些生物实体的脂质具有真正的结晶形式；然而，液晶脂质相更为普遍。脂肪（甘油三酯脂质）的结晶已经得到了相对充分的记录和更频繁的综述，但本综述的重点是脂质组织至关重要且多样化的其他领域。还报告了一些最新进展以及一些模型脂质相和生物学证据的明确实例。
