liquidexpanded
Liquid-expanded, abbreviated LE, is a fluid phase observed in lipid monolayers at the air–water interface. It describes a state in which lipid molecules are more expanded and less tightly packed than in the adjacent liquid-condensed (LC) phase. Some literature and data sets write the term without a space as liquidexpanded, but the conventional designation is LE.
In the LE phase, the area per molecule is larger, the monolayer is more compressible, and the
Phase behavior in Langmuir monolayers often shows coexistence between LE and LC domains near phase boundaries.
LE is commonly studied using Langmuir troughs and related techniques (surface pressure–area isotherms, fluorescence or Brewster