Thermal phase transitions in sheep, rat and rabbit surfactant lipids detected by differential scanning calorimetry

1. The thermal behaviour of sheep, rat and rabbit pulmonary surfactant lipids was investigated using high sensitivity differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). 2. Phase transitions were evident in the surfactant lipids from all three animals, with the upper limit of the phase transition being 30.1 C in the sheep, 36.8 C in the rat and 36.3 C in the rabbit. 3. The relatively greater fluidity of the sheep surfactant lipids in comparison to those of the rat and rabbit was due primarily to differences in their palmitic acid content.