Head group and chain length dependence of phospholipid self-assembly studied by spin-label electron spin resonance.

The critical micelle concentrations (cmc's) of a variety of spin-labeled phospholipids, 1-acyl-2-[4-(4,4-dimethyloxazolidine-N-oxyl)valeryl]-sn-glycero-3-pho sph o derivatives, have been determined by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The narrow, three-line ESR spectra of the rapidly tumbling monomers are clearly distinguished from the spin-spin broadened spectra of the micellar aggregates, allowing a direct determination of the concentrations of the two species. The influence of both the hydrocarbon chain length and the polar head group on the energetics of self-assembly has been studied. For phosphatidylcholine, 1n [cmc] decreases linearly with the length of the sn-1 chain. The gradient of this linear dependence corresponds to a free energy of transfer of the monomer from the aqueous phase to the micelle of delta Gtr = -1.1RT per CH2 group. The cmc's of the 1-lauroyl derivatives of both phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol have relatively shallow, biphasic temperature dependences with a minimum at approximately 20 degrees C. Both of these properties are characteristic of the hydrophobic effect, with the free energy of transfer being slightly less than that for the solubility of n-hydrocarbons in water, corresponding to the reduced configurational entropy of the lipid chains in the micellar state. The cmc's of the 1-lauroyl derivatives of the phospholipids in 0.15 M NaCl, for their various charge states, are as follows: phosphatidic acid(2-), 0.77 mM; phosphatidic acid(1-), 0.13 mM; phosphatidylserine(1-), 0.24 mM; phosphatidylglycerol(1-), 0.17 mM; phosphatidylcholine, 0.10 mM; phosphatidylethanolamine, 0.05 mM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)