Branched bimolecular lipid membranes

Some Further Experiments on Bimolecular Lipid Membranes

In the earlier experiments it was established that a bilayer of pure egg phosphatidyl choline containing less than 50 per cent by volume of n-decane had a capacitance of 0.38 /ff/cm2 , this value being independent of applied voltage up to at least 50 my and independent of frequency between 200 and 5 X 106 cs. It was also unaffected by the nature and concentration of the surrounding electrolyte ...

Blocking of the beta-latrotoxin channels in bimolecular lipid membranes by antibodies.

Asymmetric ion channels are formed in a bimolecular lipid membrane by beta-latrotoxin (LT) introduced to one (cis) side of the membrane. LT-specific antibodies added to the opposite (trans) side of the membrane block the current through the LT channels when a negative potential is applied to the cis side, no blockade is observed at positive potentials. LT-specific antibodies do not block the ch...

The Nature of the Negative Resistance in Bimolecular Lipid Membranes Containing Excitability-Inducing Material

When sufficiently small amounts of excitability-inducing material (EIM) are added to a bimolecular lipid membrane, the conductance is limited to a few discrete levels and changes abruptly from one level to another. From our study of these fluctuations, we have concluded that the EIM-doped bilayer contains ion-conducting channels capable of undergoing transitions between two states of different ...

Single-channel fluctuations in bimolecular lipid membranes induced by rat olfactory epithelial homogenates.

Chemosensitive single-channel fluctuations were observed to be induced in essentially solvent-free lipid bimolecular membranes by the addition of sonicated homogenates of rat olfactory epithelium. The chemosensitive channels were not observed when respiratory epithelium homogenates were used instead. Ionic selectivity is consistent with potassium ions as the charge carrier. These channels may b...

Lipid Membranes