Water activity and its relationship with interactions stabilising lamellar
stacks of mixed lipid bilayers in their fluid state are investigated by means
of osmotic pressure measurements coupled with small-angle x-ray scattering. The
(electrically-neutral) bilayers are composed of a mixture in various
proportions of lecithin, a zwitterionic phospholipid, and Simulsol, a non-ionic
cosurfactant with an ethoxylated polar head. For highly dehydrated samples the
osmotic pressure profile always exhibits the "classical" exponential decay as
hydration increases but, depending on Simulsol to lecithin ratio, it becomes
either of the "bound" or "unbound" types for more water-swollen systems. A
simple thermodynamic model is used for interpreting the results without
resorting to the celebrated but elusive "hydration forces"Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in The European
Physical Journal
