Ak. Kontturi et al., STUDY OF ION TRANSFER ACROSS PHOSPHOLIPID MONOLAYERS ADSORBED AT MICROPIPETTE ITIES, Journal of electroanalytical chemistry [1992], 424(1-2), 1997, pp. 69-74
The transfer of tetraethylammonium cations across phospholipid monolay
ers deposited at a micropipette ITIES (interface between two immiscibl
e electrolyte solutions) was studied using short potential step techni
ques. The observed current transients consisted of a capacitive and a
faradaic current component, which were separated using a non-linear fi
t to a model function. Fits were very good. From the capacitive compon
ent, the surface coverage of lipids was calculated by applying a simpl
e model for the monolayer configuration. It appeared that the coverage
varied between 80 and 99%. The rate of ion transfer was increased sli
ghtly after the lipid addition, but no significant variations between
different lipids were found. The transfer mechanism is discussed brief
ly.