1,2-dimyristoylamido-1,2-deoxyphosphatidylcholine

Description

1,2-dimyristoylamido-1,2-deoxyphosphatidylcholine, often abbreviated as **DMPC-dPC**, is a synthetic analog of phosphatidylcholine (PC), a major component of cell membranes. Here's a breakdown of its key features and research significance:

**Structure and Properties:**

* **Phosphatidylcholine (PC):** PC is a phospholipid with a glycerol backbone, two fatty acid chains, and a phosphocholine head group.
* **DMPC-dPC:** DMPC-dPC is a modified version of PC where the glycerol backbone is replaced with a deoxyglycerol moiety (lacking one oxygen atom). Both fatty acid chains are myristate, which has 14 carbon atoms.

**Importance in Research:**

DMPC-dPC is a valuable tool in biophysical and biomedical research for several reasons:

* **Mimicking Membrane Structure:** Like natural PC, DMPC-dPC forms stable bilayers in aqueous solutions, mimicking the structure of cell membranes. This allows researchers to study membrane properties in a controlled environment.
* **Stable and Well-Characterized:** DMPC-dPC is a well-characterized lipid with a defined chemical structure and consistent behavior. This makes it ideal for reproducible experiments.
* **Flexibility in Research:**
* **Membrane Dynamics:** DMPC-dPC is used to study the fluidity, phase transitions, and other dynamic properties of lipid membranes.
* **Protein Interactions:** Researchers use DMPC-dPC to investigate how proteins interact with membranes, their orientation, and their effects on membrane structure.
* **Drug Delivery:** The biocompatibility of DMPC-dPC makes it a potential component of drug delivery systems, such as liposomes.
* **Deuterium Labeling:** The presence of deuterium (D) in the deoxyglycerol moiety allows researchers to study membrane properties using techniques like deuterium NMR spectroscopy. This provides detailed insights into the structure and dynamics of the lipid bilayer.

**Overall, DMPC-dPC is a versatile and valuable tool for studying membrane properties, protein-lipid interactions, and the development of new drug delivery systems.**

1,2-dimyristoylamido-1,2-deoxyphosphatidylcholine: artificial boundary lipid; structure given in first source [Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), National Library of Medicine, extracted Dec-2023]