PERMEABILITY BARRIERS FORMED BY MEMBRANE-LIPIDS

Pure lipid bilayers formed by suitable lipids, which upon dispersion in water spontaneously adopt such an organization, exhibit permeability properties of continuous hydrophobic barriers in close resemblance to biological membranes. The chemical and physical factors determining the variable selectivity of such permeability barriers are discussed. Insertion of membrane proteins into the bilayers may largely impair the barrier function but their structural stress can be compensated by simultaneous incorporation of non-bilayer lipids with complementary shape.