PROPERTIES OF CHLOROPH'YLL‐LECITHIN VESICLES: ULTRACENTRIFUGATION, ABSORBANCE, EMISSION AND PHOTOBLEACHING

Abstract

Abstract— Egg lecithin vesicles (liposomes) containing up to one Chl a per 11 lecithin molecules were prepared without sonication. Their absorbance and emission properties indicate that Chl is dispersed in the lecithin, that the vesicles are dispersed in the medium and that there is a strong quenching of fluorescence. Their photobleaching and chemical bleaching show that there is a negligible amount of colloidal Chl present. In vesicles with a Chl:lecithin molar ratio higher than 0.05, there are probably some small aggregates of Chl a in the bilayer. The ultracentrifugation of such vesicles shows that their sedimentation constant increases, though not regularly, with their relative Chl content