STRUCTURE AND BIOMEMBRANE MIMETIC BEHAVIOR OF THE WATER-OCTANOL INTERFACE

A widely used screen to test the propensity of molecules to absorb int o living tissue is the water-octanol emulsification test. The determin ation of the contribution of interfacial adsorption to bioavailability has been elusive using this standard assay. In this report, a novel t echnique of measuring molecular bioavailability is introduced. This te chnique employs laser light to probe molecular adsorption to the biome mbrane mimetic water-octanol interface. It is shown that adsorption to the membrane plays a critical role in the process delivering molecule s, such as pharmaceuticals, to tissue cells. Additionally, it has been possible to determine for the first time experimentally the structure of the water-octanol interface.