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. 1970 Dec;10(12):1127–1148. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3495(70)86360-3

A Study of Lipid Bilayer Membrane Stability Using Precise Measurements of Specific Capacitance

Stephen H White
PMCID: PMC1367993  PMID: 5489777

Abstract

A method is described for measuring the specific capacitance (Cm) of lipid bilayer membranes with an estimated experimental error of only 1%. The gross capacitance was measured with an AC Wheatstone bridge and a photographic technique was used to determine the area of thin membrane. The results of measurements on oxidized cholesterol-decane membranes formed in 1 × 10-2 M KCl show that Cm depends upon temperature, voltage, time, and the age of the bulk membrane solutions. For a freshly thinned membrane (from 5 week old solution), Cm increases exponentially from an initial value of 0.432 ±0.021 (SD) μF/cm2 with a time constant of ∼15 min. A 100 mv potential applied across the membrane for 10-20 min prior to making measurements eliminated this time dependence and produced final-state membranes. Cm of final-state membranes depends upon applied voltage (Va) and obeys the equation Cm = C0 + βVa2 where Va ≃ VDC + VrmsAC. C0 and β depend upon temperature; C0 decreases linearly with temperature while β increases linearly. At 20°C, C0 = 0.559 ±0.01 (SD) μF/cm2 and β = 0.0123 ±0.0036 (SD) (μF/cm2)/(mv2) and at 34°C, C0 = 0.472 ±0.01 and β = 0.0382 ±0.0039. These variations in Cm are interpreted as resulting from thickness changes. The possibility that they result from diffuse layer and/or membrane dielectric phenomena is discussed and found to be unlikely. The results are discussed in terms of membrane stability by constructing hypothetical potential energy vs. thickness curves.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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