Living systems. Liquid crystalline properties of phospholipids and biological membranes

Abstract

Phospholipids are important components of the structure of many cell membranes. They exhibit a melting process associated with the lipid chains at temperatures considerably below the final melting point. In the presence of water they also exhibit lyotropic mesomorphism, and various phases exist, e.g., lamellar and hexagonal phases.

The relevance of this behaviour to the structure and function of some cell membranes will be discussed.