Structure of cholesterol helical ribbons and self-assembling biological springs
Name
Khaykovich-2007-Structure of cholesterol.pdf
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Author(s)
Khaykovich, Boris
Hossain, Chintan
McManus, Jennifer J.
Lomakin, Aleksey
Moncton, David E.
Benedek, George B.
Date Issued
April 2007
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Citation
Khaykovich, B. et al. “Structure of Cholesterol Helical Ribbons and Self-assembling Biological Springs.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104.23 (2007): 9656–9660. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. © 2007 The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
Version
Final published version
Abstract
We report the results of x-ray-scattering studies of individual helical ribbons formed in multicomponent solutions of cholesterol solubilized by various surfactants. The solutions were chemically defined lipid concentrate (CDLC) and model bile. In these and many analogous multicomponent surfactant–cholesterol solutions, helical ribbons of two well defined pitch angles, namely 11° and 54°, are formed. We have suggested previously that this remarkable stability results from an underlying crystalline structure of the sterol ribbon strips. Using a synchrotron x-ray source, we have indeed observed Bragg reflections from individual ribbons having 11° pitch angle. We have been able to deduce the parameters of the unit cell. The crystal structure of these ribbons is similar to that of cholesterol monohydrate, with the important difference that the length of the unit cell perpendicular to the cholesterol layers is tripled. We discuss possible origins for this triplication as well as the connection between the crystalline structure and the geometrical form of the helical ribbons.
MIT Department
MIT Materials Research Laboratory
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702967104
