ChemMatCARS Nuggets - Biological Science

Rheology and Structure of Straight-Chain and Branched Fatty Alcohol Mixtures at an Air / Water Interface

GOAL - Elucidate the structure and phase behavior of fatty alcohol mixtures using X-ray diffraction and reflectivity.

RESULTS - Straight and branched regions are phase separated. Micelles form in the subphase at higher surface pressures, leaving a monolayer of pure straight chains.

IMPACT - (1) An understanding of the phase behavior of fatty alcohol mixtures is essential to modeling important biological systems such as lipids. In particular it is important to modeling certain cellular functions such as the “kiss and run” mechanism, where the vesicle connects only briefly to the plasma membrane without full collapse. (2) Interfacial rheology (surface viscosity) is enhanced at low branched fraction of fatty alcohol mixtures. (3) Pure straight chain fatty alcohols and single-component alcohols are well understood, but mixtures of branched materials are not.

Hexadecanol straight- and branched-chain mixtures

Eicosanol straight- and branched-chain mixtures

Formation of micelles from straight- and branched-chain fatty alcohol mixtures

Principal Investigator: Gerald G. Fuller, Stanford University, funded under NSF DMR-0213618
Published in: X-ray data in preparation. Related work published in R. E. Kurtz, A. Lange, G. G. Fuller, "Interfacial Rheology and Structure of Straight-Chain and Branched Fatty Alcohol Mixtures," Langmuir 2006, 22, 5321-5327. DOI: 10.1021/la060290i

September 2007

« Back to top