Dresden 2009 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 25: Membranes
BP 25.9: Talk
Friday, March 27, 2009, 12:45–13:00, HÜL 186
Long-Range Motion of Phospholipids on a Picosecond Timescale as Seen with Quasielastic Neutron Scattering — •Sebastian Busch1, Christoph Smuda1, Luis Carlos Pardo Soto2, and Tobias Unruh1 — 1Physik Department E13 and Forschungsneutronenquelle Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II), Technische Universität München, Lichtenbergstraße 1, D-85747 Garching bei München — 2Grup de Caracterització de Materials, ETSEIB, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, E-08028 Barcelona
Phospholipids are not only interesting because of their ubiquity and importance for every living being, but also because they can be used in a variety of technological applications, e.g. as stabilizers of lipid nanoparticles for drug delivery. We aim to understand the diffusional dynamics of phospholipids on a molecular scale, the difference in dynamics of monolayers compared to bilayers, the influence of coemulsifiers, and the correlation of these microscopic parameters to macroscopic physicochemical quantities.
On a long timescale, the free volume theory can describe the long-range diffusive motions of phospholipids satisfactorily. Molecular dynamics simulations have observed that on a short time scale, collective, flow-like motions become important.
We studied liquid crystals, vesicles, and emulsions with DMPC using quasielastic neutron scattering at the time-of-flight spectrometer TOFTOF at FRM II. Experimental evidence was found that the long-range motion on a picosecond time range indeed has a flow-like character.