Abstract

The specific effect of ethanol on several aspects of the gel-to-liquid crystal transition of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine was investigated using two spectrophotometric techniques, one probe method and one direct method. Ethanol shifts the phase-transition temperature to low temperature, demonstrating that ethanol interacts preferentially with the fluid phase. Thermodynamic analysis of the melting point depression leads to a calculated membrane:buffer partition coefficient of 6.25 (mole fraction units) or 0.15 mole of ethanol per kilogram of lipid:mole of ethanol per liter of solution. Careful evaluation of the transition cooperativity with temperature resolution of +/- 0.1 degrees shows that there is no reduction in transition cooperativity, and thus no reduction in size of the cooperative lipid clusters due to ethanol. The implications of these findings for the mechanism of action of ethanol in terms of current theories of anesthetic mechanisms are discussed.