D-glucose permeability of black lipid membranes modified by human erythrocyte membrane fractions

The D-glucose permeabilities of bimolecular lipid membranes formed from egg lecithin, cholesterol and human erythrocyte membrane fractions obtained using several fractionation procedures have been measured in order to assess their monosaccharide transport activity. The electrical properties of the bilayers containing the membrane fractions have also been measured and the bilayer thicknesses calculated. The observed D-glucose permeability coefficients are several orders of magnitude lower than that of the human erythrocyte membrane, indicating that none of the membrane fractions possessed significant glucose carrier activity. It is concluded that more refined techniques for incorporating membrane fractions into BLMs will be necessary before the monosaccharide transport system can be simulated in vitro.