Phospholipids are organic compounds that are comprised of a glycerol backbone, two fatty acid acyl‐chains, and a phosphate head group with various substituents. In an aqueous environment, the hydrophobic acyl‐chains minimize their contact with water by aligning to form a bi‐layered system. As the bi‐layer converges upon itself, stable bi‐layered spheres, liposomes, form. Liposomes have been used for years as a delivery agent for medical and commercial applications. In the commercial field, soy lecithin is typically used as the mixed phospholipid source to prepare liposomes. However, the concentrations of the different phospholipids can vary between providers and batches.31P NMR is to be sensitive enough to differentiate each of the specific phospholipids found in the soy lecithin mixture. Deuterated Chloroform (CDCl3) and Methanol (CH3OH) were used as the solvent system, with a mixture of Cesuim‐Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Cs‐EDTA) added to further separate the signals. An internal standard of Triethyl phosphate (TEP) was used to quantify the individual concentrations of phospholipids. Utilizing 31P‐NMR, it is possible to analyze the phospholipid content of liposomes and follow the degradation of the phospholipids over time and under various conditions. This research was made possible by funding from Ingredient Innovations International and the Chemistry Department of Chemistry at The College of Wooster.

During apoptosis a ternary complex is formed between the phospholipid membrane surface of a cell, calcium metal ions, and a repair protein. The binding affinity and structural arrangement of this complex is not well characterized. Small molecule analogs of the phospholipid, phosphatidylserine (PS), are proposed to investigate the binding in the ternary complex. A phospolipid analog (PLA) of PS, cyclohexyl phospho‐L‐serine (cycPS), was previously synthesized. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) was used to determine how the anionic phospho‐L‐serine head group of the proposed analog compares to PS in affinity to and selectivity for Ca2+ over Mg2+. The ITC method was first developed to measure Ca2+ binding by a similar commercially available compound, O‐phospho‐L‐serine, and then applied to the proposed analog, cycPS. Comparable Ca2+ binding affinity of cycPS relative to PS allows for further experiments with Mg2+ to evaluate if cycPS is a sufficient structural and biological model of PS. This research was made possible through funding from The College of Wooster.