HIGH-FIELD CONDUCTION THROUGH LIPID BILAYER

Attempts have been made to understand the conduction process through lipid bilayer and biomembranes. The proof is obtained by standard physical methods purely on the basis of well-known properties of cell membranes and of the molecular devices (lipids, proteins, etc.) found in them. It is assumed that protein, surrounding the polar heads of a lipid, is in contact with lipids and have different electrochemical potential and also that there is an activation gate on which gating charges reside. With the application of a voltage the ions are injected and they move through the channels within the bilayer membrane. The mobility of the carriers are assumed to depend on the applied electric field. The steady-state current voltage characteristics so obtained are compared with the experimental findings.