| abstract |
The invention provides a method of forming a membrane between a first volume of polar medium and a second volume of polar medium, which method comprises: (a) providing a first volume comprising polar medium and a second volume comprising polar medium which are separated from one another by an apolar medium, wherein at least one of said first and second volumes comprises a layer comprising amphipathic molecules, at the interface between the polar medium and the apolar medium, wherein each of the amphipathic molecules comprises a first outer hydrophilic group, a hydrophobic core group, and a second outer hydrophilic group, wherein each of the first and second outer hydrophilic groups is linked to the hydrophobic core group; and (b) causing the first and second volumes to come into contact with one another to form a membrane comprising said amphipathic molecules between the first and second volumes. The invention also provides a system comprising a membrane between a first volume of a polar medium; and a second volume of a polar medium, which membrane comprises the amphipathic molecules, and wherein the first volume of polar medium is within an apolar medium. |