The blockage of the electrical conductance in a pore-containing membrane by the n-alkanes.
1. In monooelein bilayers made highly conducting by the addition of a fixed amount of o-pyromellitylgramicidin, the membrane conductance has been shown to be strongly dependent on the chain length of the n-alkane with which the membrane is in equilibrium. Thus for n-hexadecane, the conductance is larger by approx. 10(4) times than it is for n-octane. This result is independent of whether the polypeptide is introduced via the aqueous or lipid phases. 2. The observed conductance variations have been accounted for in terms of a mechanism (outlined in earlier publications) which is based on the thickness and tension changes produced in bilayers by the adsorption of n-alkanes. Essentially quantitative agreement between theory and experiment is found.
D000473:Alkanes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D006096:Gramicidin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000187:drug effects*; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008954:Models, Biological; D008970:Molecular Weight; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013499:Surface Properties; D013500:Surface Tension
D000473:Alkanes; D007473:Ion Channels; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D006096:Gramicidin