Abstract
Abstract Lipophilic ions are used as probes for the membrane potential of small cells which are unable to be impaled by microelectrodes. The ambiguity of this estimation is the binding of the probe to the membrane, which gives rise to the overestimation. To remove the ambiguity, the present study was done. The probes used are a homologous series of (Phe) 3 P + (CH 2 ) n CH 3 ( n = 0—5) and tetraphenylphosphonium. The membrane used was an envelope vesicle of Halobacterium hatobium which upon illumination generated the interior-negative membrane potential. In the dark, where no membrane potential was generated, the binding to the membrane was measured and analysed with the Langmuir isotherm. Upon illumination, probes were accumulated into vesicles where probes are present in two bound and free populations. Free probe concentration was estimated using various binding models to calculate the membrane potential.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call