DPPC Bilayers in Solutions of High Sucrose Content.

The properties of lipid bilayers in sucrose solutions have been intensely scrutinized over recent decades because of the importance of sugars in the field of biopreservation. However, a consensus has not yet been formed on the mechanisms of sugar-lipid interaction. Here, we present a study on the effect of sucrose on 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine bilayers that combines calorimetry, spectral fluorimetry, and optical microscopy. Intriguingly, our results show a significant decrease in the transition enthalpy but only a minor shift in the transition temperature. Our observations can be quantitatively accounted for by a thermodynamic model that assumes partial delayed melting induced by sucrose adsorption at the membrane interface.

Crystal structure of tetra-methyl-tetra-thia-fulvalenium (1S)-camphor-10-sulfonate dihydrate.

Electro-oxidation of tetra-methyl-tetra-thia-fulvalene (TMTTF) in the presence of the chiral anion (1S)-camphor-10-sulfonate (S-camphSO3 (-)) in tetra-hydro-furan/water medium afforded a 1/1 salt formulated as TMTTF·S-camphSO3·2H2O or 2-(4,5-dimethyl-1,3-di-thiol-2-yl-idene)-4,5-dimethyl-1,3-di-thiole radical ion (1+) [(1S)-7,7-dimethyl-2-oxobi-cyclo-[2.2.1]heptan-1-yl]methane-sulfonate dihydrate, C10H12S4 (+)·C10H15O4S(-)·2H2O. In this salt, two independent TMTTF units are present but, in both cases, the observed bond lengths and especially the central C=C distance [1.392 (6) and 1.378 (6) Å] are in agreement with a complete oxidation of TMTTF which is thus present as TMTTF (.) (+) radical cations. These cations form one-dimensional stacks in which they are associated two by two, forming dimers with short [3.472 (1) to 3.554 (2) Å] S⋯S contacts. The two S-camphSO3 anions present also form stacks and are connected with each other via the water mol-ecules with many O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds ranging from 1.86 (3) to 2.15 (4) Å; the O-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding network can be described as being constituted of C 2 (2)(6) chains bearing R 3 (3)(11) lateral rings. On the other hand, the columns of cations and anions are connected through C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a system expanding in three directions; finally, the result is a three-dimensional network of O-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.