Vesicle systems for mimicking the effects of 2,4-dichlorophenol on cell membranes

The effect of 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) on the phosphatidylethanolamine (l-α-dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylethanolamine (DPPE))/water liposomes was studied in the temperature domains of the gel and liquid crystalline phases at the DCP/DPPE molar ratios of 10−1 and 10−3 by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as well as small and wide angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS). Different character of the transitions between the gel and the liquid crystalline phases was observed in the lipid/water and by DCP-doped systems. The different DCP concentrations caused similar effects in the change of the layer arrangements of the gel phase, while the perturbation of the subcells of this phase was different. In the liquid crystalline phase, the DCP molecules did not affect the layer structure significantly. The calorimetrical behaviour of the systems were rather correlated to the changes of the subcells than to the layer arrangements.