Regional Cooperativity in the Phase Transitions of Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine Bilayers: The Lipid Tail Triggers the Isothermal Crystallization Process

We have a long-standing interest to explore the answer of the question: Which part of the amphiphilic molecule triggers the phase transition of the self-assembled aggregates consisting of these amphiphiles? This is an important issue regarding the phase transition kinetics of amphiphiles. To this end, we studied the phase transition behaviors of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) by differential scanning calorimetry, synchrotron X-ray...