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Download fileOxygen Permeability of Fully Condensed Lipid Monolayers
journal contribution
posted on 2004-05-13, 00:00 authored by Mark A. Borden, Marjorie L. LongoThe oxygen permeation resistance of highly condensed monolayers composed of a homologous series of
saturated diacyl phosphatidylcholine lipids was measured using a novel technique that combined micromanipulation and electrochemical techniques. The use of lipid monolayer-coated air microbubbles allowed
measurement of the oxygen permeation resistance of fully condensed lipid monolayers that were previously
unavailable using classical film balance techniques. Fully condensed lipid monolayers were found to
significantly impede oxygen transport from the gas core, an effect that increased with lipid acyl chain length.
The magnitudes of the measured oxygen permeation resistances, 102 to 103 s/cm, agree with literature values
for various gases permeating through highly condensed fatty acid and alcohol monolayers. Such high resistances
can account for the previously observed hindered dissolution of lipid-stabilized microbubbles in degassed
media. Additionally, the ability to probe a lipid monolayer in its fully condensed state leads to new physical
insights into monolayer permeation.