Spontaneous formation of a monolayer membrane from sarcoplasmic reticulum at an air-water interface

Surface pressure was found to be produced spontaneously at the interface between air and a suspension containing fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum (FSR) from rabbit white muscle. Large and stable surface pressure was formed only in a limited concentration range of FSR in the suspension and the pressure formation was proved to be an irreversible phenomenon, suggesting the formation of a monolayer membrane resulting from the disruption of FSR vesicles. Monolayer formation was directly confirmed by analyzing the components included in the membrane and by calculating the surface area occupied by these components. The monolayer included phospholipids, cholesterol and proteins, and appeared to originate from FSR vesicles since the molecular ratios of these components as well as the results of the SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis were similar in both membranes. This phenomenon can be utilized as a method of monolayer preparation from biological membrane vesicles, and should be very useful for the reconstitution of planar biological membranes.