The structure and dynamics of planar supported membranes were studied by using the fluorescence probe Nile red. The width of fluorescence lifetime distribution of Nile red was used to infer the heterogeneity of membranes. The width of fluorescence lifetime was larger and the lifetime was shorter in supported membranes when compared to vesicle membranes. This was interpreted as due to the presen...

We measure the gradient diffusion coefficient of a model lipopolymer in supported lipid bilayer membranes from Fourier-transform post-electrophoresis relaxation. The experiments and accompanying quantitative interpretation furnish the concentration dependence of the gradient diffusion coefficient. In striking contrast to the recent measurements of the self-diffusion coefficient from fluorescenc...

In this thesis multi-component mass transport in thin supported amorphous silica membranes is discussed. These membranes are micro-porous, with pore diameters smaller than 4Å and show high fluxes for small molecules (such as hydrogen) combined with high selectivities for these molecules with respect to larger ones. The chemical and thermal stability of silica membranes are favourable compared t...

We investigate the lateral dynamics in a purely viscous lipid membrane which is supported by a thin polymer sheet (polymer-supported membrane). The generalized frequency-dependent mobility tensor of the polymer-supported membrane is obtained by taking into account the viscoelasticity of the polymer sheet. Due to its viscoelasticity, the cross-correlation functions of two particles embedded in t...

Phospholipid vesicles exhibit a natural tendency to fuse and assemble into a continuous single bilayer membrane on silica and several other substrate materials. The resulting supported membrane maintains many of the physical and biological characteristics of free membranes, including lateral fluidity. Recent advances, building on the supported membrane configuration, have created a wealth of op...

In this paper, the silicon-containing sulfonated polystyrene/acrylate–ionic liquid (Si-SPS/A–IL)hybrid membranes was prepared to obtain the proton exchange membrane (PEM) materials withhigh methanol barrier and good selectivity. The Si-SPS/A–IL hybrid membranes characterized asthe function of IL to evaluate their potential as PEMs in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs).Fourdifferent Hybrid mater...

The lipid bilayer of model membranes, liposomes reconstituted from cell lipids, and plasma membrane vesicles and spheres can separate into two distinct liquid phases to yield lipid domains with liquid-ordered and liquid-disordered properties. These observations are the basis of the lipid raft hypothesis that postulates the existence of cholesterol-enriched ordered-phase lipid domains in cell me...