Liposomal circular dichroism (L-Cd) of arenoyl derivatives of sphingolipids. Amplification of cotton effects in ordered lipid bilayers

Abstract

Liposomal circular dichroism (L-CD) of acyclic amino alcohols exhibit amplification of Cotton effects when measured in highly uniform, unilamellar liposomes. The effect is likely due to intermolecular associations—H-aggregates—that self-assemble spontaneously within the lipid bilayer, and persists over long time scales. L-CD spectra of N,O,O-tri-(6′methoxy-2′naphthoyl)-D-erythro-sphingosine, or the corresponding dihydro-derivative (sphinganine), shows ~10-fold amplification of magnitudes of Cotton effects over conventional CD spectra recorded in isotropic solution.