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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy as a Unique Probe for Lipid Membrane Dynamics and Membrane-Protein Interactions
Published on: May 27, 2021
On soliton propagation in biomembranes and nerves
Thomas Heimburg1, Andrew D Jackson
1The Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, 17 Blegdamsvej, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark. theimbu@nbi.dk
Abstract:
The lipids of biological membranes and intact biomembranes display chain melting transitions close to temperatures of physiological interest. During this transition the heat capacity, volume and area compressibilities, and relaxation times all reach maxima. Compressibilities are thus nonlinear functions of temperature and pressure in the vicinity of the melting transition, and we show that this feature leads to the possibility of soliton propagation in such membranes. In particular, if the membrane state is above the melting transition solitons will involve changes in lipid state. We discuss solitons in the context of several striking properties of nerve membranes under the influence of the action potential, including mechanical dislocations and temperature changes.
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