Adsorption of lipids on silicalite-1

Abstract

The adsorption of egg lecithin and cholesterol from chloroform solutions onto silicalite-1 (hydrophobic silica with MFI zeolite structure) is investigated. Adsorption isotherms of the L-type for lecithin and the S-type for cholesterol are obtained in the 0.05–4.5 mg/mL range of equilibrium lipid concentrations. The maximum adsorption for lecithin is 30 mg/g; for cholesterol it is 70 mg/g. Chloroform treatment results in the desorption of no more than 10% of the lecithin and up to 50% of the cholesterol from the silicalite-1 surface. The lecithin molecules in the monolayer on the silicalite-1 are oriented such that their hydrophobic tails are oriented toward the surface and are partially inside the pores of the adsorbent.