Dipolar solvent relaxation on a nanosecond time scale in ether phospholipid membranes as determined by multifrequency phase and modulation fluorometry

The present study reports on the observation of dipolar solvent relaxation in phospholipid membranes using multifrequency phase and modulation fluorometry. We measured the time-resolved emission spectra of 6-propionyl-2-(dimethylamino)naphthalene (PRODAN) in artificial bilayer membranes of chemically defined acyl-, alkyl-, and alkenyl-substituted phospholipids at 15 degrees C. 1-Palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, 3-O-hexadecyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-1-phosphocholine, or 1-O-hexadec-1'-enyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (plasmalogen) were used as matrix lipids. The chemical structures of these lipids differ only with respect to the type of linkage (carboxyl ester, ether, or enol ether bond) between glycerol and the hydrophobic chain linked to the primary hydroxyl of glycerol. At 15 degrees C, all the lipids are in the liquid crystalline state. PRODAN probably localizes at the hydrophobic-hydrophilic interface of the phospholipid bilayer Chong, P. L. (1988) Biochemistry 27, 399-404]. We found faster solvent relaxation of PRODAN in membranes composed of the ether lipid compared to that in the ester lipid membranes. On the other hand, the fluorescence anisotropies of the label were very similar, showing that the motion of the label itself is similar in ether and carboxyl ester lipids. We conclude that the spectral differences observed for PRODAN in ether and ester lipids could be due to different dipolar relaxation of the immediate surroundings of the label, i.e., reorientation of lipid dipoles in the glycerol region and of water molecules residing therein.