Physical Chemistry and the Cell Membrane

Abstract

The simplicity of lipid bilayers as compared with natural membranes has determined the emphasis of this book. The physical chemist traditionally works, both experimentally and theoretically, on systems of defined composition, and there is not a single natural membrane for which the structure is known to the (albeit still limited) precision attainable for single lipid bilayers. Nevertheless, membranes have been examined by physical techniques and the results are heartening in that they demonstrate unequivocally that the structure, dynamic behavior, and general properties of the lipid bilayer are carried over in modified form to the living membrane. The purpose of this chapter is both to justify this last statement and to place before the reader some examples of the relevance of physical chemistry to the study of the cell membrane. Of course, the selected research represents a minute fraction of the literature and is not intended to be in the nature of a review.