Membrane conductance and surface potential

The specific conductances of black lipid membranes of lecithin, glycerylmonooleate and lecithin and cholesterol in aqueous solutions of KCl + nonactin have been measured. The relative conductances of the lecithin and the glycerylmonooleate membranes are accurately accounted for by the difference in their surface potentials. The large effect of cholesterol in depressing the conductance of the lecithin membranes is, however, not accounted for by changes in the surface potential and it is necessary to invoke either changes in the membrane solubility of the nonactin-K⁺ complex, or changes in the membrane viscosity (as experiences by the ionophore in transit), or both.The surface potentials which, in all the present membranes, arise solely from layers of oriented molecular dipoles, are not affected by the KCl concentration.