Electric field unbinding of solid-supported lipid multilayers.

We studied by X-ray reflectivity the behaviour of fully hydrated solid-supported lipid multilayers under the influence of a transverse electric field, under conditions routinely used in the electroformation process. The kinetics of sample loss (unbinding) was measured as a function of the amplitude and frequency of the applied field by monitoring the integrated intensity of the Bragg peaks. We also performed a time-resolved analysis of the intensity of the first Bragg peak and characterized the final state of the sample.