Utilization of Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy for Elucidation of Electrochemical Properties of Lecithin – Cholesterol Mixtures in Model Phospholipid Membranes

Abstract

Different models of phospholipid membranes (PLMs) have been utilized for better understanding of properties and functionality of real biological membranes. Mechanisms of transport processes and membrane properties can be investigated on planar phospholipid bilayers. Electrochemical behavior of phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol mixtures in the PLM form was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) and cholesterol are essential for living cells and, therefore, they were chosen for experiments. Different lecithin/cholesterol ratios were tested on different polycarbonate (PC). This material is formed by a condensation polyme­rization resulting in a carbon that is bonded to three oxygens. The time dependence of PLM formation in the presence of cholesterol was investigated.