EFFECTS OF 2 DOUBLE-BONDS ON THE HYDROCARBON INTERIOR OF A PHOSPHOLIPID-BILAYER

A phospholipid bilayer was modelled by duplicating a monolayer system of 36 itoyl-2-linoleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (PLPC) molecu les (16:0/18:2) plus 1368 water molecules and simulated using molecula r dynamics. The analyses revealed distinct characteristics in the memb rane structure due to polyunsaturation. The orientational behaviour of the fatty acid chains in the PLPC bilayer was found to be seemingly d ifferent from that in monounsaturated or in saturated phospholipid bil ayers. The specific attributes responsible for the observed behaviour of the saturated and polyunsaturated chains are discussed and their re lative importance assessed.