ELECTROOPTICS OF MEMBRANE ELECTROPORATION AND VESICLE SHAPE DEFORMATION

Electrooptical and conductometric methods continue to reveal new and m ore detailed information on the dynamic properties of membranes in ele ctric fields. In particular, the electric pore formation in lipid vesi cles, doped with optical probes, has been successfully investigated wi th electrooptical techniques thus providing new insight into the lipid rearrangements underlying membrane electroporation (ME) and vesicle d eformation. Progress in understanding the molecular mechanism of ME an d related phenomena, such as electrofusion of cells or electroinsertio n of foreign proteins into membranes, is crucially important for the n umerous applications of ME, for example, direct electroporative gene t ransfer and drug delivery in the new medical discipline of electropora tive chemotherapy.