Polymerized Bicontinuous Cubic Lipid Assemblies

来自水化膜系统的几类生物和合成脂类，表现出随着温度、压力和浓度的变化而出现的各种片层和非片层相。这一建议侧重于在片状和六方相之间发现的倒立方相。感兴趣的倒立方相是相对于极性(水)和非极性(脂)相是双连续的那些。双连续立方相的水溶液通道和脂质表面的相互渗透网络允许水溶性物质通过该结构。这些自支撑结构具有沸石的形态，只有生物相容的脂类表面，因此可以预见在生物分离和膜反应器技术中有许多应用。立方脂相一旦形成，有时会稳定数周，但它们的温度范围通常很窄，经常发生在高于室温甚至生理温度的温度下。PI开创了稳定脂质双层和囊泡的技术，方法是将可聚合的反应基团，特别是双乙烯基连接到组成的脂类上，然后在超分子组装形成后引发聚合。该研究的目的是将这一技术应用于立方体结构的稳定。特别是，这项研究将设计和合成可聚合脂质，通过差示扫描量热法、X射线衍射和核磁共振光谱对聚合和未聚合相进行表征，以期显示出双连续立方相。

Several classes of biological and synthetic lipids from hydrated membrane systems that display a variety of lamellar and nonlamellar phases as a function of temperature, pressure and concentration. This proposal focuses on inverted cubic phases which are found between lamellar and hexagonal phases. The inverted cubic phases of interest are those which are bicontinuous with respect to the polar (aqueous) and nonpolar (lipid) phases. The interpenetrating network of aqueous channels and lipid surfaces of the bicontinous cubic phase permit the passage of water soluble species through the structure. These free standing structures have the morphology of zeolite only with biocompatible lipid surfaces, and as such can be envisioned to have many applications in bioseparations and membrane reactor techniques. Once formed, cubic lipid phases are sometimes stable for weeks, however their temperature range is usually narrow and frequently occurs at temperatures higher than room or even physiological temperatures. The PI has pioneered the technique of stabilizing lipid bilayers and vesicles by attaching polymerizable reactive groups, particularly diacetylenic groups, to the constituent lipids, and then initiating a polymerization after the supramolecular assembly has formed. The aim of the proposed research is to apply this technique to the stabilization of cubic structures. In particular, the proposed research will design and synthesize polymerizable lipids which are expected to display a bicontinuous cubic phase characterize the polymerized and unpolymerized phases by differential scanning calorimetry, X- ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy.