Global Small-Angle Scattering Data Analysis of Inverted Hexagonal Phases

Abstract

We have developed a global analysis model for randomly oriented, fully hydrated inverted hexagonal (H$_\text{II}$) phases formed by many amphiphiles in aqueous solution, including membrane lipids. The model is based on a structure factor for hexagonally packed rods and a compositional model for the scattering length density (SLD) enabling also the analysis of positionally weakly correlated H$_\text{II}$ phases. For optimization of the adjustable parameters we used Bayesian probability theory, which allows to retrieve parameter correlations in much more detail than standard analysis techniques, and thereby enables a realistic error analysis. The model was applied to different phosphatidylethanolamines including previously not reported H$_\text{II}$ data for diC14:0 and diC16:1 phosphatidylethanolamine. The extracted structural features include intrinsic lipid curvature, hydrocarbon chain length and area per lipid at the position of the neutral plane.