Propagation and Synchronization of Potential Oscillations in Multiple Liquid Membrane Systems

Abstract

Two liquid membrane oscillators composed of aqueous solutions containing cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTACl) and alcohol, W1 and W1′, a nitrobenzene solution containing picric acid, O, and pure water phase, W2, were connected through O and W2 as common phases. Two glass tubes including W1 and W1′ were inserted into the O/W2 interface. Both membrane potential differences between W1 and W2 and that between W1′ and W2 were recorded using a pair of Ag/AgCl electrodes located near the orifice of each tube. The oscillations of two membrane potentials synchronized each other when the distance between the tubes was less than 10 mm. The synchronization was attended by the propagation of a potential pulse from one side to another with an interval of approximately 70 ms at a distance of 10 mm. It was examined whether the propagation of the potential pulse was due to electric conduction in bulk phases, or due to the interfacial conduction by several experiments in the addition of indifferent electrolytes or nonionic surfactant. Consequently, it has been demonstrated that the propagation of oscillation pulse was dominated mainly by the interfacial conduction process, and additionally by the bulk ionic conduction and that the interfacial diffusion and distribution of Cl -played a crucial role.

Chemical communication between liposomes encapsulating a chemical oscillatory reaction

“…electrolyte concentration) on chemical signal propagation rate was proven. 17 Here, a microelectrode is used to monitor the communication process at the micrometer-scale in the vicinity of the liquid/liquid interface. Such strategy of local (electrochemical) probing has been successfully applied to identify the transfer of molecules, ions and electrons across model so interfaces, such as the ITIES 18 eventually modied with lipid layers, 19 or biomimetic giant liposomes.…”

“…In liquid-liquid systems, chemical communication can be facilitated by using permeable (redox inactive) ions increasing the interface conduction. 17 These permeable ions, also denoted potential determining ions, allow ion transfer that accompanies interfacial ET between two redox species constrained in two different liquid phases even though the redox species are not directly crossing the interface. A strategy to indirectly improve the chemical communication between micro-reactors in droplet-based microuidics relies on adding in the different liquid phases some permeable ions (here for example BF 4 À , Br À ).…”

New bulk liquid membrane oscillator composed of two coupled oscillators with diffusion-mediated physical coupling

“…Finally, it should be stressed that the present work provides evidence for the coupling in a spontaneously created coupled oscillator as opposed to artificially constructed oscillatory systems (Tatsuno et al, 2012).…”

Water Interface the Simplest and Best Suited Model for Understanding Biomembranes?

“…ITV measurements have been also extended to electrochemical elucidation of nerve conduction. Maeda's group [32][33][34] has studied nerve-like, self-sustained potential oscillations of liquid membranes (W1 | O | W2 systems) and also their propagation and synchronization in multiple liquid membrane systems. The propagation of the change in membrane potential, such as that from resting potential to action potential, has been studied by Shirai and coworkers, [35][36][37] who used biomimetic O | W interfaces or planar bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) to elucidate the 1 Introduction 361 2 IT Processes 362 3 ET Processes 363 potential propagation mechanisms.…”