Phospholipids are a major component of cellular membranes and therefore the understanding and characterization of lipids is a critical to understanding biological systems. The characterization of lipids in phospholipid bilayers has significant implications in the fields of drug delivery and development, as well as aids in the understanding of trans-membrane diffusion. Raman spectroscopy provides an effective method for characterizing lipids found in biological membranes. Relative features of Raman spectra of lipids can be monitored in order to determine intramolecular and intermolecular order, as the spectral frequency, intensity, and line-width of vibrational bands are extremely sensitive to structural alterations. In this study, antisymmetric PC lipids, SOPC and SDPC, were utilized to examine the effect of cis double bonds in the acyl chain on membrane order. SDPC contains 6 cis double bonds, while SOPC contains one double bond. Additionally, the effect of concentration of caffeine on membrane order was evaluated utilizing DOPC liposomes. Our findings will add greater knowledge to the role of polyunsaturation and small molecule interactions in membranes, and their ability to modulate the membrane order at the molecular level, as probed by a sensitive Raman spectroscopic technique.

Confocal Raman microspectroscopy for biomembrane characterization

2019 Fall National Meeting

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