Absence of fluid-ordered/fluid-disordered phase coexistence in ceramide/POPC mixtures containing cholesterol.

The effect of temperature on the lateral structure of lipid bilayers composed of porcine brain ceramide and 1-palmitoyl 2-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (POPC), with and without addition of cholesterol, were studied using differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and confocal/two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy (which included LAURDAN generalized polarization function images). A broad gel/fluid phase coexistence temperature regime, characterized by the presence of micrometer-sized gel-phase domains with stripe and flowerlike shapes, was observed for different POPC/ceramide mixtures (up to approximately 25 mol % ceramide). This observed phase coexistence scenario is in contrast to that reported previously for this mixture, where absence of gel/fluid phase coexistence was claimed using bulk LAURDAN generalized polarization (GP) measurements. We demonstrate that this apparent discrepancy (based on the direct comparison between the LAURDAN GP data obtained in the microscope and the fluorometer) disappears when the additive property of the LAURDAN GP function is taken into account to examine the data obtained using bulk fluorescence measurements. Addition of cholesterol to the POPC/ceramide mixtures shows a gradual transition from a gel/fluid to gel/liquid-ordered phase coexistence scenario as indicated by the different experimental techniques used in our experiments. This last result suggests the absence of fluid-ordered/fluid-disordered phase coexistence in the ternary mixtures studied in contrast to that observed at similar molar concentrations with other ceramide-base-containing lipid mixtures (such as POPC/sphingomyelin/cholesterol, which is used as a canonical raft model membrane). Additionally, we observe a critical cholesterol concentration in the ternary mixtures that generates a peculiar lateral pattern characterized by the observation of three distinct regions in the membrane.

Anisotropic nuclear inelastic scattering of an iron(II) molecular crystal.

Nuclear inelastic scattering (NIS) spectra were recorded for a monocrystal of the spin-crossover complex [Fe(tptMetame)] (ClO (4))(2) (tptMetame = 1,1,1-tris([N-(2-pyridylmethyl)-N-methylamino]-methyl)ethane) at T = 30 K (low-spin state) and at room temperature (high-spin state) for different crystal orientations. The high energy resolution (0.65 meV) allowed us to resolve individual molecular vibrations which were unambiguously identified by density functional calculations. From the NIS spectra for the first time the angular-resolved iron-partial density of phonon states (PDOS) was extracted. The PDOS corroborates a vibrational entropy difference as driving force of the spin transition.

Electron paramagnetic resonance characteristics of some non-heme low-spin iron(III) complexes.

We have recorded the powder EPR-spectra of some near octahedral iron(III) complexes with tridentate ligands donors and analysed their spectra with simple ligand field analysis and for some cases with the angular overlap model (AOM). We have determined the electron praramagnetic resonance (EPR) characteristic of bis 1,4,7-triazacyclonane iron(III)chloride at 4 K and found that it was similar to the characteristics of the so-called 'highly anisotropic low spin' complexes. We have recorded the powder spectra of bis (2,6-bis(benzimidazoly-2-yl)pyridine) iron(III) perchlorate and made an AOM-analyses of the structural similar complex bis-(2,6 (N-carbamoyl)-pyridine) iron(III). With a combination of ligand field analyses and AOM, we could determine the pi-donor properties of these ligands. The same approach have been used to determine the pi-donor properties of the hydroperoxo ligand. Finally we have recorded the powder EPR-spectrum of [Fe(CN)6]3- doped in K3[Co(CN)6] and [Co(NH3)6][Co(CN)6] at 4 and 100 K and in water at 4 K. The spectra are interpreted as the effect of a dynamic Jahn-Teller distortion.