Structural significance of lipid diversity as studied by small angle neutron and X-ray scattering

Norbert Kučerka, Frederick A. Heberle, Jianjun Pan, John Katsaras

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

73 Scopus citations

Abstract

We review recent developments in the rapidly growing field of membrane biophysics, with a focus on the structural properties of single lipid bilayers determined by different scattering techniques, namely neutron and X-ray scattering. The need for accurate lipid structural properties is emphasized by the sometimes conflicting results found in the literature, even in the case of the most studied lipid bilayers. Increasingly, accurate and detailed structural models require more experimental data, such as those from contrast varied neutron scattering and X-ray scattering experiments that are jointly refined with molecular dynamics simulations. This experimental and computational approach produces robust bilayer structural parameters that enable insights, for example, into the interplay between collective membrane properties and its components (e.g., hydrocarbon chain length and unsaturation, and lipid headgroup composition). From model studies such as these, one is better able to appreciate how a real biological membrane can be tuned by balancing the contributions from the lipid’s different moieties (e.g., acyl chains, headgroups, backbones, etc.).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)454-472
Number of pages19
JournalMembranes
Volume5
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 21 2015

Keywords

  • Bilayer
  • Lipid area
  • Lipidome
  • Neutron scattering
  • Structure
  • X-ray scattering

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