Bounding fluid viscosity and translational diffusion in a fluid lipid bilayer

Abstract

Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching was used to investigate the translational diffusion of a fluorescent derivative of a membrane-spanning lipid in Lα phase multibilayers of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoylphosphatidylcholine prepared in water and in glycerol. The translational diffusion coefficient in hydrated bilayers (Dw) ranged between 2 and 5x10−8 cm2/s and in glycerinated bilayers (Dg) the range was between 3 and 24×10−10 cm2/s between 10° and 40°C. These results are discussed in terms of models for diffusion in membranes.