Self-Organization of an L-Ether-amide Phospholipid in Large Two-Dimensional Chiral Crystals

Large two-dimensional chiral crystals are obtained in monolayers of 1-O-hexadecyl-2-N-palmitoyl-2-amino-2-deoxy-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine by a pressure-induced 2D transition from a fluid to a condensed phase. The chiral domain growth in two dimensions (see Brewster angle microscopy image) exceeds over 400 micrometer, which was not observed before for phospholipids. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction clearly shows the formation of a chiral lattice that is barely changed during compression. Therefore, the chiral discrimination forces must be enhanced by other directed interactions such as hydrogen bonds.