Diffusion of lipids in supported bilayers as an NMR probe for topological studies in nanoporous solids

The diffusion of lipids in bilayers on curved supports of porous silica beads is studied by deuterium solid state NMR relaxation. We demonstrate that the combination of bilayers coated on curved silica substrates with NMR experiments and simulations which are sensitive to the diffusive motion of the fluid bilayer lipids can provide information about the substrate topology. This provides a new approach for the exploration of the complex internal surface topology of silica gels widely used in biomolecule chromatography. Received: 10 December 1997 / Revised version: 26 January 1998 / Accepted: 4 February 1998