Magnetoresponse in electrical properties of black lipid membranes

The membrane potential and resistance of black lipid membranes (BLM), compr ising didodecyl phosphite or dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, markedly chang ed up to -50% and 4%, respectively, due to steady magnetic fields in the re gion of 0.2 T. The magnetic-field effects on the electrical properties seem to occur not via the Lorentz force on the ion flux but via the cooperative orientation of lipid molecules. Thus, the addition of molecules having dif ferent magnetic anisotropy to a BLM, modified the magnetoresponses of the m embrane. These examples demonstrate that: relatively low magnetic fields ma y regulate the electrical properties of lipid membranes.