X-Ray Studies on Phospholipid Bilayers. VIII. Interactions with Chlorpromazine · HCl

Abstract

Abstract Chlorpromazine is a widely used phenothiazine tranquilizer known to alter the shape of normal erythrocytes and their osmotic fragility. In order to understand the nature of the interactions chlorpromazine · HCl (CPZ · HCl) was made to interact with phospholipid bilayers formed by dimyristoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DMPE) and dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC). This study was carried out by X-ray diffraction on crystalline powders of various molar mixtures of CPZ · HCl with DMPE and DMPC, with and without water. It was found that CPZ · HCl significatively affects the bilayer structure of DMPC in the presence of water, but not that of DMPE.