SYNTHESIS OF DEFECTIVE PHOSPHOLIPIDS

Phospholipids have been synthesized that possess a normal 16-carbon ch ain plus a ''defective'' chain only 8 or 12 carbons long and terminate d with methoxyl, hydroxyl, or carboxyl groups. In addition, dimeric ph ospholipids have been prepared in which two phospholipid units are joi ned at position-1 with chains of 22 or 32 carbons while unconnected ch ains at position-2 are, once again, short and functionalized. These ph ospholipids are potentially useful for constructing membranes that con tain cavities or irregularities and, therefore, are capable of serving as self-assembled host systems in which drugs and other guest molecul es are retained and, perhaps, eventually released.