Permeability and Stability of Lipid Bilayers

This book presents a comprehensive and coherent picture of how molecules diffuse across a liquid that is, on average, only two molecules thick. It begins by characterizing bilayers structurally, using X-ray diffraction, and then mechanically by measuring elastic moduli and mechanisms of failure. Emphasis is placed on the stability and mechanical properties of plant membranes that are subject to very large osmotic and thermal stresses. Using this information, the transport of molecules of increasing complexity across bilayers is analyzed. Determination of the Structure of Fluid Lipid Bilayer Membranes, S.H. White and M.C. Wiener, Water and Membranes, S.-J. Marrink and M. Berkowitz, Cohesion and Permeability of Lipid Bilayer Vesicles, D. Needham, Freeze-Induced Destabilization of Cellular Membranes and Lipid Bilayers, P.L. Steponkus, M. Uemura, and M.S. Webb, Permeability Alteration by Transmembrane Electric Fields: Electroporation, A.E. Sowers, A Molecular Mechanism for the Transport of Water Across Phospholipid Bilayers, T.H. Haines and L.S. Liebovitch, Permeability of Lipid Bilayers Near the Phase Transition, O.G. Mouritsen, K. Jørgensen, and T. Hønger, Proton Permeation of Lipid Bilayers, D.W. Deamer and A.G. Volkov, Influence of Charges and Dipoles on Macromolecular Adsorption and Permeability, D.S. Cafiso, Permeability of Lipophilic Ions across Lipid Bilayers, P. Smejtek, Fatty Acid Transport Across Membranes, A.M. Kleinfeld, Propagation of Protons at the Water Membrane Interface: Microscopic Evaluation of a Macroscopic Process, M. Gutman, E. Nachliel, and Y. Tsfadia, Index