The L_γ Phase of Pulmonary Surfactant.

ABSTRACT: To determine how different components affect the structure of pulmonary surfactant, we measured X-ray scattering by samples derived from calf surfactant. The surfactant phospholipids demonstrated the essential characteristics of the L_γ phase: a unit cell with a lattice constant appropriate for two bilayers, and crystalline chains detected by wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). The electron density profile, obtained from scattering by oriented films at different relative humidities (70-97%), showed that the two bilayers, arranged as mirror images, each contain two distinct leaflets with different thicknesses and profiles. The detailed structures suggest one ordered leaflet that would contain crystalline chains and one disordered monolayer likely to contain the anionic compounds,

SUBMITTER: Kumar K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6526724 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature