Impact of Varying Temperature of Various Lipids on Monolayer Formation Rate and Droplet Interfacial Tension
Open Access
- Author:
- Guyaux, Clayton
- Area of Honors:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Joseph Najem, Thesis Supervisor
Daniel Humberto Cortes Correales, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- POPE
POPG
DPhPC
E. Coli
Interfacial Tension
Monolayer Formation Rate - Abstract:
- Lipids are molecules that reside in most organisms and play several important functions on the outer region of membranes, such as transmitting proteins, providing protection, and communicating impulses. These molecules are artificially reproduced to simulate the formation of monolayers and bilayers around droplets. A bilayer is needed to combine two droplets and form chains which have many applications, including the production of synthetic tissues. The primary parameters that impact droplet network formation is monolayer formation rate and steady state interfacial tension that influence the efficiency and integrity of the system. This research analyses these attributes at varying temperatures for two lipid solutions that have beneficial qualities. One solution contained palmitoyloleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (POPE) and palmitoyloleoyl phosphatidylglycerol (POPG), and the other consisted of Escherichia coli (E. Coli) lipid extract. Diphytanoyl phosphocholine (DPhPC) lipids were first examined to validate the experimental procedure because it is frequently studied. Steady state interfacial tension was close to the established value of 1.118 mN/m, and monolayer formation rate decreased with temperature, confirming the methodology. However, the POPE and POPG solution did not show sufficient trends in either parameter, primarily due to the clumping that was observed. The eTLE solution’s monolayer formation rate and steady state interfacial tension showed a negative and positive relationship with temperature, respectively. Further research in theory and experimentation will be needed to define concrete values for the parameters of interest.