Abstract
STUDY of phase transition of lipid molecules in biological membranes has been stimulated by the possible significance of this transition for membrane function, particularly for diffusion across the membrane. Here I propose for the first time a simple molecular field model which provides a quantitative measure of the ordering of membrane lipids as a function of temperature. It is based on theories which describe ordering in thermotropic liquid crystals, as described by McMillan1.
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References
McMillan, W. L., Phys. Rev., 4, 1238 (1971).
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Phillips, M. C., Williams, R. M., and Chapman, D., Chem. Phys. Lipids, 3, 234 (1969).
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MARČELJA, S. Molecular Model for Phase Transition in Biological Membranes. Nature 241, 451–453 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/241451a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/241451a0
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