Lipid Crystallinity
Lipid Crystallinity - Related Videos
01:21
Polymer Classification: Crystallinity
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2023
Unlike ionic or small covalent molecules, polymers do not form crystalline solids due to the diffusion limitations of their long-chain structures. However, polymers contain microscopic crystalline domains separated by amorphous domains. Crystalline domains are the regions where polymer chains are aligned in an orderly manner and held together in proximity by intermolecular forces. For example, chains in the crystalline domains of polyethylene and nylon are bound together by van der Waals...
11:17
Synthesis of Programmable Main-chain Liquid-crystalline Elastomers Using a Two-stage Thiol-acrylate Reaction
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Cited by 107 •
2016
A novel methodology is presented to synthesize and program main-chain liquid-crystalline elastomers using commercially available starting monomers. A wide range of thermomechanical properties was tailored by adjusting the amount of crosslinker, while the actuation performance was dependent on the amount of applied strain during programming.
03:38
Structure of Lipids
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2020
Lipids include a diverse group of compounds that are largely nonpolar in nature. This is because they are hydrocarbons that include mostly nonpolar carbon-carbon or carbon-hydrogen bonds. Non-polar molecules are hydrophobic (“water fearing”), or insoluble in water. Lipids perform many different functions in a cell. Cells store energy for long-term use in the form of fats. Lipids also provide insulation from the environment for plants and animals. For example, they help keep aquatic birds and...
12:04
Microfluidic Preparation of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Actuators
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Cited by 3 •
2018
This article describes the microfluidic process and parameters to prepare actuating particles from liquid crystalline elastomers. This process allows the preparation of actuating particles and the variation of their size and shape (from oblate to strongly prolate, core-shell, and Janus morphologies) as well as the magnitude of actuation.
07:24
Sonication Extraction of Lipid Biomarkers from Sediment
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2023
Source: Laboratory of Jeff Salacup - University of Massachusetts Amherst The material comprising the living "organic" share of any ecosystem (leaves, fungi, bark, tissue; Figure 1) differs fundamentally from the material of the non-living "inorganic" share (rocks and their constituent minerals, oxygen, water, metals). Organic material contains carbon linked to a series of other carbon and hydrogen molecules (Figure 2), which distinguishes it from inorganic material. Carbon's wide valency range...
FAQs
Polymorphism allows lipid materials to adopt more than one crystal arrangement, with each arrangement reflecting a different pattern of molecular packing. These forms can differ in stability and melting behavior, so a material may change as it is heated, cooled, or allowed to recrystallize. Tracking such transitions helps explain changes in texture, formulation stability, and release behavior.
Cooling promotes crystallization when molecular interactions and hydrocarbon-chain packing become sufficiently favorable. The extent of ordering depends on how readily the chains organize into a repeating structure rather than remaining disordered. Because packing conditions govern formation of solid phases, thermal history and cooling conditions can influence the resulting crystallinity and the material properties associated with it.
Melting and recrystallization describe reversible changes in the solid-phase organization of a lipid material. Melting disrupts the ordered arrangement, whereas recrystallization allows ordering to develop again under suitable conditions. Examining both processes reveals how a formulation responds to temperature changes and helps identify phase behavior that may affect texture, stability, or controlled release.
A crystalline phase contains a more ordered molecular arrangement, while an amorphous state lacks the same repeating organization. This structural difference changes how the lipid material responds to heating and other processing conditions. Consequently, the balance between these states can influence physical characteristics and the performance of lipid-containing foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical formulations.
Differential scanning calorimetry is used to monitor thermal transitions associated with lipid phase behavior. By examining changes during heating or cooling, chemists can evaluate crystallization and melting events and compare how the material responds under different conditions. The resulting thermal information helps characterize solid-phase formation and assess transitions relevant to formulation stability and processing.
X-ray diffraction and polarized-light microscopy provide structural and visual perspectives that complement thermal analysis. X-ray diffraction helps assess ordered arrangements within the lipid material, while polarized-light microscopy allows crystal-related features to be observed directly. Using these methods together with differential scanning calorimetry gives a broader picture of molecular organization, phase transitions, and crystallinity.
Control of lipid crystallinity supports the design of foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical formulations by helping manage texture, stability, and release. The same phase behavior also provides chemical context for understanding lipid-containing soft materials and biological membranes. Researchers therefore study crystallinity both as a formulation property and as part of broader investigations into lipid organization and material behavior.