Electrical oscillation and fluctuation in phospholipid membranes. Phospholipids can form a channel without protein.

Fluctuations and/or step-wise changes in membrane potential and electrical current were observed in bilayer membranes of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) in the absence of any channel protein. The DOPC membranes consisted of three types: black lipid membranes, pipette-clamp membranes and lipid membranes transferred to porous filter paper by conventional Langmuir-Blodgett techniques. This finding is significant since phospholipids are the main constituents of biomembranes. Lipid molecules with a cis double bond in their carbon skeleton are suggested to be important in the gating or excitation of biomembranes.