Phase diagrams and lipid domains in multicomponent lipid bilayer mixtures

Understanding the phase behavior of biological membranes is helped by the study of more simple systems. Model membranes that have as few as 3 components exhibit complex phase behavior that can be well described, providing insight for biological membranes. A number of different studies are in agreement on general findings for some compositional phase diagrams, in particular, those that model the outer leaflet of animal cell plasma membranes. These model mixtures include cholesterol, together with one high-melting lipid and one low-melting lipid. An interesting finding is of two categories of such 3-component mixtures, leading to what we term Type I and Type II compositional phase diagrams. The latter have phase regions of macroscopic coexisting domains of {Lα + Lβ + Lo} and of {Lα + Lo}, with domains resolved under the light microscope. Type I mixtures have the same phase coexistence regions, but the domains seem to be nanoscopic. Type I mixtures are likely to be better models for biological membranes.