Oestrogen phospholipid membrane interactions: An FTIR study

Interactions of 17 beta-oestradiol (E2) with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) multilamellar liposomes were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as a function of temperature. The investigation of the C-H stretching region and the C=0 mode reveals that E2 changes the physical properties of the DPPC bilayers by decreasing the main phase transition temperature, diminishing the pretransition, slightly disordering the system in the gel and in the liquid crystalline phase, increasing the dynamics of the system in the gel phase, and making strong hydrogen bonding with the C=0 groups of DPPC in the liquid crystalline phase. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.