Study on selectivity of permeating chiral complexes in bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs)

Abstract Electrical properties such as membrane potential ( E m ) of planar bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) are readily measured. Planar BLMs have been extensively used as models of biomembranes. In this paper we report BLMs formed in the solutions containing chiral complexes: d -K[Co(EDTA)], l -K[Co(EDTA)]; d -[Co(C 2 O 4 )(en) 2 ]I, and l -[Co(C 2 O 4 )(en) 2 ]I, whose E m values display great differences, implying strong chiral selectivity. The permeability ratios of different chiral complexes calculated from E m are the same as those obtained from human erythrocyte experiments. These results showed that chiral selectivity of cell uptake was mainly caused by the chirality of the membrane phospholipid itself. As a rapid and sensitive analytic tool, the BLM may be used to study permeating pathways and drug–membrane interactions. With further research, the BLM system may be developed into a useful method for drug screening.