Magnesium Ion Responses of Zwitterionic Phosphatidylethanolamine Head and Tail Groups Elucidated by Frequency-Resolved SFG-VS

In the present study, the effects of magnesium ions on the conformational changes of the deuterated 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (D54-DMPE) monolayer were elucidated by frequency-resolved sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy (SFG-VS) and surface pressure-area isotherm measurements. It is found that the tilt angles of the methyl in tail groups decrease, while the tilt angles of the phosphate and methylene in head groups increase during the compression of the DMPE monolayers at both the air/water interface and the air/MgCl2 solution interfaces. It is also shown that the tilt angle of the methyl in the tail groups slightly decreases, while the tilt angles of the phosphate and methylene in the head groups significantly increase as the MgCl2 concentration increases from 0 to 1.0 M. These results indicate that both the tail groups and the head groups of the DMPE molecules become closer to the surface normal, as the MgCl2 concentration increases in the subphase.

Automated summary

The effects of magnesium ions on the conformational changes of the D54-DMPE monolayer were investigated using SFG-VS and surface pressure-area isotherm measurements. It was observed that the tilt angles of the methyl in the tail groups decreased, while the tilt angles of the phosphate and methylene in the head groups increased during compression. Additionally, as the MgCl2 concentration increased, the tilt angles of the phosphate and methylene significantly increased.