(4S,5S)-4-[(1R)-1,2-Dihydroxyethyl]-5-tridecyl-1,3-oxazolidin-2-one

Acta Cryst. (2003). C59, o225–o227

[Lipid]

Amphiphilic lipids are composed of a polar head group and an apolar tail of one or two hydrocarbon chains. Depending on the space requirement of both building blocks, they form micellar (one alkyl chain) or lamellar (two alkyl chains) structures in the aqueous environment of living systems.

In the crystal, a 1,3-oxazolidin-2-one substituted with a polar dihydroxyethyl and only one tridecyl residue forms alternating layers of hydrocarbon chains and polar head groups. The molecules arrange in intercalating bilayers with a lipophilic core and a polar surface, in which the head groups are connected within and also between the layers by a network of hydrogen bonds.

Peter Sawatzki, Thomas Mikeska, Martin Nieger, Michael Bolte and Thomas Kolter