A procedure for estimating the surface potential of charged or neutral membranes with 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulphonate probe. Adequacy of the Gouy-Chapman model.

Using the fluorescent anion 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulphonate (ANS) for determining the membrane surface potential necessitates that the intrinsic affinity constant Ki for the ANS sites be known. Two methods are presented which do not rely on a determination of Ki at high ionic strength. They are respectively applied to neutral membranes (egg phosphatidylcholine liposomes) and highly charged natural ones (horse bean microsomes and liposomes from their phospholipids). The value of Ki appears to be insensitive to the level of occupancy of the sites, the KCl concentration and the pH in large ranges. Furthermore, the classical Gouy-Chapman model seems to describe correctly the whole set of data, provided apparent mean molecular areas larger than the published crystallographic ones are admitted.