Comparison of energy-minimized crystal structures of 2,3-dilauroyl-D-glycerol, 3-palmitoyl-DL-glycerol-1-phosphorylethanolamine and 1,2-dilauroyl-DL-phosphatidylethanolamine:acetic acid.

Computational procedures have been developed by which the total energy of a lipid multibilayer can be calculated and minimized. The energy is expressed as a sum of non-bonded, electrostatic, hydrogen bonded and torsional energy terms and includes intramolecular and intermolecular components. Calculations were carried out on three lipid crystals for which structural data are available from X-ray diffraction analysis. For each crystal, the energy was minimized as a function of all bond rotations, molecular rotations and translations and the lattice constants. The minimized structures differed by only small amounts from the experimental structures, which confirms the validity of the current set of energy functions and parameters for use with lipids. The intermolecular energy of each crystal is analyzed in terms of lateral interactions, interactions between the two monolayers of the same bilayer and interactions between bilayers. The intermolecular non-bonded energy per CH2 or CH3 group in the acyl chains is also given.