Superlinearity of current-voltage characteristics of oxidized cholesterol bilayer membranes

Current-voltage characteristics of bilayer oxidized cholesterol membranes were measured in 0·1 M KCl solution. The ohmic conductance was (5±3) × 10−4Ω−1 m−2. To explain the superlinearity of the characteristics, a model of the ion transport through transient pores was used. Alternative diffusion barrier models could also explain the nonlinearity, but the distribution coefficients of permeable ions between the membrane hydrocarbon phase and the aqueous phase had to be taken unreasonably high.