Electrical resistivity of the liquid phase of vesicular suspensions prepared by different methods

Abstract

Giant lipid vesicles are obtained mainly by two methods of formation: (i) electroformation and (ii) gentle hydration (spontaneous swelling). Very often the electoformation is carried out in experimental cells consisting of indium-tin oxide (ITO) coated plates as electrodes and various polymer spacers. In the present work, the influence of the ITO coatings and the polymer spacers on the electrical resistivity of the liquid medium of electroformed vesicle suspensions is examined by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Our study is intended to point out possible implications of the electroformation method, especially in cases when phenomena, related to electric properties of the vesicle membranes, are investigated. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.