Propagation of 2D pressure pulses in lipid monolayers and its possible implications for biology.

The existence and propagation of acoustic pressure pulses on lipid monolayers at the air-water interface are directly observed by simple mechanical detection. The pulses are excited by small amounts of solvents added to the monolayer. Controlling the state of the lipid interface, we show that the pulses propagate at velocities c following the lateral compressibility κ. This is manifested by a pronounced minimum in c (∼0.3 m/s) within the transition regime. The role of interface density pulses in biology is discussed, in particular, in the context of communicating localized alterations in protein function (signaling) and nerve pulse propagation.

Simultaneously propagating voltage and pressure pulses in lipid monolayers of pork brain and synthetic lipids.

Hydrated interfaces are ubiquitous in biology and appear on all length scales from ions and individual molecules to membranes and cellular networks. In vivo, they comprise a high degree of self-organization and complex entanglement, which limits their experimental accessibility by smearing out the individual phenomenology. The Langmuir technique, however, allows the examination of defined interfaces, the controllable thermodynamic state of which enables one to explore the proper state diagrams. Here we demonstrate that voltage and pressure pulses simultaneously propagate along monolayers comprised of either native pork brain or synthetic lipids. The excitation of pulses is conducted by the application of small droplets of acetic acid and monitored subsequently employing time-resolved Wilhelmy plate and Kelvin probe measurements. The isothermal state diagrams of the monolayers for both lateral pressure and surface potential are experimentally recorded, enabling us to predict dynamic voltage pulse amplitudes of 0.1-3 mV based on the assumption of static mechanoelectrical coupling. We show that the underlying physics for such propagating pulses is the same for synthetic and natural extracted (pork brain) lipids and that the measured propagation velocities and pulse amplitudes depend on the compressibility of the interface. Given the ubiquitous presence of hydrated interfaces in biology, our experimental findings seem to support a fundamentally new mechanism for the propagation of signals and communication pathways in biology (signaling), which is based neither on protein-protein or receptor-ligand interaction nor diffusion.

Thermomechanic-electrical coupling in phospholipid monolayers near the critical point.

Lipid monolayers have been shown to represent a powerful tool in studying mechanical and thermodynamic properties of lipid membranes as well as their interaction with proteins. Using Einstein's theory of fluctuations we here demonstrate that an experimentally derived linear relationship both between transition entropy S and area A as well as between transition entropy and charge q implies a linear relationships between compressibility κT, heat capacity cπ, thermal expansion coefficient αT, and electric capacity CT. We demonstrate that these couplings have strong predictive power as they allow calculating electrical and thermal properties from mechanical measurements. The precision of the prediction increases as the critical point TC is approached.

Wave propagation in lipid monolayers.

Sound waves are excited on lipid monolayers using a set of planar electrodes aligned in parallel with the excitable medium. By measuring the frequency-dependent change in the lateral pressure, we are able to extract the sound velocity for the entire monolayer phase diagram. We demonstrate that this velocity can also be directly derived from the lipid monolayer compressibility, and consequently displays a minimum in the phase transition regime. This minimum decreases from v(0) = 170 m/s for one-component lipid monolayers down to v(m) = 50 m/s for lipid mixtures. No significant attenuation can be detected confirming an adiabatic phenomenon. Finally, our data propose a relative lateral density oscillation of Deltarho/rho approximately 2%, implying a change in all area-dependent physical properties. Order-of-magnitude estimates from static couplings therefore predict propagating changes in surface potential of 1-50 mV, 1 unit in pH (electrochemical potential), and 0.01 K in temperature, and fall within the same order of magnitude as physical changes measured during nerve pulse propagation. These results therefore strongly support the idea of propagating adiabatic sound waves along nerves as first thoroughly described by Kaufmann in 1989 and recently by Heimburg and Jackson, but already claimed by Wilke in 1912.