Abstract In the present study we focus on the effect of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on sphingomyelin (SM) model membranes composed by a binary mixture of a natural SM extract from porcine brain (BSM), and cholesterol (Chol). We compare the BSM properties with those of another natural SM extract from egg yolk (ESM), mainly palmitoyl-SM, in order to follow the effects of lipid heterogeneity on thermotropic and packing properties of model membranes. With respect to ESM, BSM accounts for a higher contribution of gauche conformers and a higher disorder as a consequence of the significant variability of acyl chain length and unsaturation degree. The ability to form a packed and ordered bilayer is extremely important for the stability and the permeability of SM-Chol membranes. DMSO is extensively employed in a range of biological and pharmaceutical application that include drug delivery and cryopreservation. DMSO affects hydration, structure and other physical properties of the membrane and, at relatively high concentrations, is known to enhance their drug permeability. This work helps on increasing the basic knowledge of the effect of DMSO on the structural properties of lipid vesicles that mime natural membranes and can also provide useful information to their use as drug carriers.

中文翻译：

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二甲亚砜和天然脂质异质性对鞘磷脂膜结构特性的影响

摘要 在本研究中，我们关注二甲基亚砜 (DMSO) 对由猪脑 (BSM) 天然 SM 提取物和胆固醇 (Chol) 的二元混合物组成的鞘磷脂 (SM) 模型膜的影响。我们将 BSM 特性与另一种来自蛋黄 (ESM) 的天然 SM 提取物（主要是棕榈酰 SM）的特性进行比较，以了解脂质异质性对模型膜的热致和填充特性的影响。关于 ESM，由于酰基链长度和不饱和度的显着可变性，BSM 占了 gauche 构象异构体的更高贡献和更高的无序。形成堆积有序的双层的能力对于 SM-Chol 膜的稳定性和渗透性极为重要。DMSO 广泛用于一系列生物和制药应用，包括药物输送和冷冻保存。DMSO 会影响膜的水合作用、结构和其他物理特性，并且在相对较高的浓度下，已知会增强它们的药物渗透性。这项工作有助于增加关于 DMSO 对模拟天然膜的脂质囊泡结构特性影响的基础知识，还可以为其用作药物载体提供有用的信息。