The GM1 Ganglioside Forms GM1-Rich Gel Phase Microdomains within Lipid Rafts

Mercury-supported, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of the sole dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) and of a raft-forming mixture of DOPC, cholesterol (Chol) and palmitoylsphingomyelin (PSM) of (59:26:15) mol% composition, were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), both in the absence and in the presence of the monosialoganglioside GM1. The impedance spectra of these four SAMs were fitted by a series of parallel combinations of a resistance and a capacitance (RC meshes) and displayed on plots of ωZ′ against −ωZ′′, where Z′ and Z′′ are the in-phase and quadrature components of the impedance and ω is the angular frequency. A comparison among these different impedance spectra points to the formation of GM1-rich gel phase microdomains within the lipid rafts of the DOPC/Chol/PSM mixture, thanks to the unique molecular-level smooth support provided by mercury, which allows EIS to detect the protruding gel phase microdomains by averaging them over a macroscopically large area.