Basu, R and De, S and Nayar, S and Das, S and Ghosh, A K and Nandy, P (1995) Nonlinear dc electrical response in a bilayer-lipid membrane - effect of bathing solutions. Physical Review E, 52 (4, Par). pp. 4179-4182. ISSN 1063-651X

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Abstract

The physical origin of a nonlinear electrical response in a bilayer lipid membrane (BLM) separating. two aqueous bathing solutions has been attributed by earlier workers to field induced pore formation in the lipid moiety, which provides ionic pathways. Recently, we reported similar nonlinearity in the absence of any ion source, viz., in solid films of lipids. The study ruled out the possibility of pore formation being the only mechanism of transmembrane conductance. Using the BLM of oxidized cholesterol in n-decane, we report here our studies on the role of bathing soution on the I-V characteristics of these membranes. The nonlinearity is maintained in the presence pf an electron donor as well as an electron acceptor in the bathing solution, although there is a distinct difference in the nature of the nonlinearity in the two cases. Our results indicate that three factors, namely, pore formation, the semiconducting properties of the constituent lipid molecules, and the mechanism of transmembrane charge transport, are responsible for the observed nonlinearity.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Engineering Materials
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User:	Bidhan Chaudhuri
Date Deposited:	21 Aug 2012 07:34
Last Modified:	06 Mar 2014 07:35
URI:	http://cgcri.csircentral.net/id/eprint/1741

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