Free self-assembled lipids

The free energy of a membrane formed from self-assembled lipids includes contributions from a number of different factors. In general, the area per lipid Uj within the membrane is close to the equihbrium value Ui o- For small deviations of Oi, the membrane is accurately modeled as a hnear elastic material Then, the elastic free energy term is ... 

A conventional BLM can also be formed by a modified L B technique. It uses essentially a lipid monolayer spread from lipid in a volatile solvent (e.g., -hexane) on each aqueous chamber with the aqueous solution below the hole. Raising the aqueous solution level on both sides above the hole results in the two monolayers combining into a BLM in the aperture, thereby forming a so-called solvent-free BLM.It should be mentioned, however, that there is a major difference between the BLM and multilayers formed by the L B technique. A BLM, formed either by the conventional painting method or self-assembling on substrates (e.g., freshly cleaved metallic wire and agar gel—see later sections) is a dynamic liquid-like structure which is capable of accommodating a host of modifiers such as polypeptides, proteins, oil-soluble compounds, etc. In contrast, a L B multilayer of bimolecular thickness, albeit more stable than a BLM, usually contains pinholes and is in a solid state [16,17]. 

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