Abstract
A model for the chain melting phase transition in dilute aqueous phospholipid bilayer dispersions is presented. This model includes interactions between head groups, between hydrocarbon chains, and within the chains. The head groups are modeled as hard disks which are constrained to lie on a two-dimensional surface separating the aqueous and hydrocarbon regions. The chain statistics problem is treated in an approximate manner using an approach motivated by scaled particle theory to describe the inter-chain steric repulsions in a mathematically tractable way. In this approach the whole system interacts with any given chain through an average lateral pressure which is proportional to the hard disk pressure. Following Nagle, we assume that the steric repulsions between chains and between head groups and the trans-gauche rotation energies are the dominant interactions in determining the transition and we describe the effect of the other interactions with a mean field approximation. Using the known transition temperature of a series of 1,2-diacyl phosphatidyl cholines to adjust two parameters in the theory, the model gives enthalpy and area changes that are in quite reasonable agreement with experiment. Moreover, the curvature observed in the plot of the transition temperature against acyl chain length is reproduced.