[Ion permeability of cerebroside and sphingomyelin bilayer membranes]

Ionic conductivity of bilayer membranes formed of cerebrosides and sphingomeylins isolated from bovine brains and its dependence on medium pH were studied. It was found that conductivity of the membranes from cerebrosides in KC1, CaCl2 solutions is 2-3 orders, and from sphingomyelin 1-2 orders higher than that of bilayers from lecithin and phospholipids. Both in cerebroside and sphingomyelin membranes the conductivity depended on medium pH, unlike the bilayer membranes of the brain and liver phospholipids.