Re-analysis of Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Determination of Interlamellar Waters in Lipid Bilayer Dispersions

A recent method to obtain the number of water molecules of hydration of multilamellar lipid vesicles using magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance has been re-examined. The previous interpretation divided the water into bulk and interlamellar water and ignored water in defects (lakes) that are intrinsic to multilamellar lipid vesicles; the result was inconsistent with x-ray results for the lipid DOPC. The new interpretation takes advantage of the reduction of lake water with increased spinning and it uses osmotic pressure measurements to determine the loss of interlamellar water. The new result for DOPC from magic angle spinning is consistent with x-ray results.