INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND MEMBRANE COMPOSITION ON WATER PERMEABILITY OF LIPID BILAYERS

The hypothesis that the transfer of water across an artificial lipid bilayer membrane can be explained on the assumption of solubility and diffusion in bulk liquid hydrocarbon of the appropriate type and thickness, has been further examined. The dependence of the osmotic water permeability coefficient of lecithin-cholesterol-hydrocarbon membranes on temperature and on the nature of the hydrocarbon solvent, has been measured and to some extent interpreted. The variation of the composition of the membranes with temperature made the system undesirably complicated and in consequence no rigorous test of the hypothesis was possible. Nevertheless, no evidence was found which was inconsistent with the bulk-liquid" hypothesis. © 1969."