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Updated: May 14, 2026

Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy as a Unique Probe for Lipid Membrane Dynamics and Membrane-Protein Interactions
Published on: May 27, 2021
The physics of cell membranes
1Department of Biophysics, School of Physics and the Centre for Membrane Science and Technology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2051 Australia.
Abstract:
An overview is given of the fundamental physics underlying the self-assembly, molecular organisation and electrical properties of the membranes that envelop living cells. These ultra thin (∼ 6 nm) membranes act as a diffusion barrier between the cell interior (cytoplasm) and the external medium. They consist basically of a bi-molecular film of lipid molecules in which are embedded functional proteins that perform a variety of functions, including energy transduction, signalling, transport of ions (and othermolecules), etc. Some examples are also presented of the fascinating and socially and commercially important applications of membrane biophysics.
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