Aggregation properties and phase behavior of biological amphiphiles with large saccharidic headgroups

Recent results connected to the conformational stability of ganglioside headgroups are presented. A description of the aggregation properties of gangliosides in solution is also given. Gangliosides are amphiphilic molecules of biological origin with a double-tail hydrophobic part and an oligosaccharide chain in the headgroup. Cooperative conformational variations of the ganglioside headgroup affect both the geometrical and the calorimetric properties of micellar aggregates. Furthermore, the headgroup transition is shown to be coupled to the usual Lβ → Lαorder-disorder transition of the hydrophobic tails.