Effect of the External Electric Field on the Structure and Reactivity of Model Complex Lipids

Background: The study of the effect of external electric field on the structure and reactivity of fatty acids and their glycerides is now extended to selected derived lipids. Objectives: The present study involves computations of changes in energy and dipole moments, charge density and bond lengths of β-carotene (a carotenoid), cholesterol (a sterol), sphingosine and ceramide (sphingolipids) and phosphatidylcholine (a phospholipid) in the external electric field of 0.00, 5.14, 25.70 and 51.40 MV/cm. Method: The computations were performed applying HyperChem 8.0 software together with the PM3 method for optimization of the conformation of the molecules. Results: The raise in the EEF strength to 5.14 MV/cm has a subtle effect on the molecular energy of the lipids under study. A slight tendency in decreasing that energy can, however, be observed. On elevating the strength up to 25.70 MV/cm that decrease in molecular energy was more significant. Conclusions: Observed changes evoked by the EEF were specific for particular molecules. They resulted mainly from the polarization of the bonds and to a lesser extent from steric deformations of the molecules.