Benz R, Beckers F, Zimmermann U
J Membr Biol. 1979 Jul 16;48(2):181-204. doi: 10.1007/BF01872858.
Charge-pulse experiments were performed with lipid bilayer membranes from oxidized cholesterol/n-decane at relatively high voltages (several hundred mV). The membranes show an irreversible mechanical rupture if the membrane is charged to voltages on the order of 300 mV. In the case of the mechanical rupture, the voltage across the membrane needs about 50-200 musec to decay completely to zero. At much higher voltages, applied to the membrane by charge pulses of about 500 nsec duration, a decrease of the specific resistance of the membranes by nine orders of magnitude is observed (from 10(8) to 0.1 omega cm2), which is correlated with the reversible electrical breakdown of the lipid bilayer membrane. Due to the high conductance increase (breakdown) of the bilayer it is not possible to charge the membrane to a larger value than the critical potential difference Vc. For 1 M alkali ion chlorides Vc was about 1 V. The temperature dependence of the electrical breakdown voltage Vc is comparable to that being observed with cell membranes. Vc decreases between 2 and 48 degrees C from 1.5 to 0.6 V in the presence of 1 M KCl. Breakdown experiments were also performed with lipid bilayer membrane composed of other lipids. The fast decay of the voltage (current) in the 100-nsec range after application of a charge pulse was very similar in these experiments compared with experiments with membranes made from oxidized cholesterol. However, the membranes made from other lipids show a mechanical breakdown after the electrical breakdown, whereas with one single membrane from oxidized cholesterol more than twenty reproducible breakdown experiments could be repeated without a visible disturbance of the membrane stability. The reversible electrical breakdown of the membrane is discussed in terms of both compression of the membrane (electromechanical model) and ion movement through the membrane induced by high electric field strength (Born energy).
在相对较高的电压（几百毫伏）下，对由氧化胆固醇/正癸烷构成的脂质双层膜进行了电荷脉冲实验。如果将膜充电至约300毫伏的电压，膜会出现不可逆的机械破裂。在机械破裂的情况下，膜上的电压需要约50 - 200微秒才能完全衰减至零。在施加持续时间约为500纳秒的电荷脉冲至膜上的更高电压时，观察到膜的比电阻降低了九个数量级（从10⁸降至0.1Ω·cm²），这与脂质双层膜的可逆电击穿相关。由于双层膜的高电导率增加（击穿），不可能将膜充电至大于临界电位差Vc的值。对于1M的碱金属离子氯化物，Vc约为1V。电击穿电压Vc的温度依赖性与细胞膜的情况相当。在1M KCl存在下，Vc在2至48摄氏度之间从1.5V降至0.6V。也对由其他脂质组成的脂质双层膜进行了击穿实验。与用氧化胆固醇制成的膜的实验相比，在这些实验中施加电荷脉冲后100纳秒范围内电压（电流）的快速衰减非常相似。然而，由其他脂质制成的膜在电击穿后会出现机械击穿，而对于一片由氧化胆固醇制成的膜，可以重复进行二十多次可重复的击穿实验而膜的稳定性没有明显干扰。从膜的压缩（机电模型）和高电场强度诱导的离子通过膜的运动（玻恩能量）两方面讨论了膜的可逆电击穿。
