MEMBRANE-SURFACE ORIENTATION AND MOTION OF GLYCOLIPIDS - H-2 NMR INVESTIGATIONS

By means of measured quadrupole splittings, dipole-dipole couplings, and lineshape analysis, the degree of motional restriction (ordering) and bilayer orientation of glycolipid head groups can be calculated. From the dependence of the H-2 nmr lineshape or multipulse experiments, and from a variety of relaxation time measurements, insight into the rates of motion (10(3)-10(11)s-1) of the carbohydrate species can be gained. Various slow motions (< 10(3) s-1) may be visualized by means of a solid state two-dimensional H-2 nmr technique.