UV-spectrophotometry study of membrane transport processes with a novel diffusion cell

A novel diffusion cell has been constructed which allows study of membrane diffusion processes without the need for sampling of the receiver compartment, that is highly sensitive and, being based around a diode array spectrophotometer also allows for continuous, real-time recording of multi-species concentration changes in the receiving compartment. The system is controlled to operate isothermally (via a Peltier control system) at temperatures between 15 and 85 degreesC. To examine the performance of this novel design, the transfer of tetracaine from a preparation in PEG 400 (20% tetracaine in PEG 400) has been studied. The results have been used to determine flux, lag time and related parameters. The performance of the novel cell is compared with results from traditional Franz cell diffusion studies. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.