Liposomal Circular Dichroism (L-CD) of Arenoyl Derivatives of Sphingolipids. Amplification of Cotton Effects in Ordered Lipid Bilayers

Liposomal circular dichroism (L-CD) of acyclic amino alcohols exhibit amplification of Cotton effects when measured in highly uniform, unilamellar liposomes. The effect is likely due to intermolecular associations—H-aggregates—that self-assemble spontaneously within the lipid bilayer, and persists over long time scales. L-CD spectra of N,O,O′-tri-(6′methoxy-2′-naphthoyl)-d-erythro-sphingosine, or the corresponding dihydro-derivative (sphinganine), shows ~10-fold amplification of magnitudes of Cotton effects over conventional CD spectra recorded in isotropic solution.