Surface tension of an artificial bileaflet membrane in comparison to parent lipid solution - water interfacial tension
✍ Scribed by A. Moran; A. Ilani
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1970
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 534 KB
- Volume
- 4
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0009-3084
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✦ Synopsis
Bileaflet membranes were produced between 0.1N NaC1 solutions from a solution of 4 % cholesterol and 5.5 % egg-lecithin in methyl oleate. The surface tension of these membranes was calculated from the measured change in capacitance in response to a change in pressure difference across the membrane. The change in capacitance was assumed to reflect change in bulging of membrane. A surface tension of 0.49 ± s.d. 0.15 dyn/cm (n --15) was found. The surface tension increased with membrane aging. The water-parent lipid solution interfacial tension was 0.72 dyn/cm. It is concluded that the difference between the free energy of formation of two interfacial surfaces and that of a bileaflet membrane is more than 1 erg/cm 2. Only a negligible fraction if this difference could be accounted for by the interaction between water molecules across the ultrathin membrane.