The optical setup for experiments with BLMs


Last modified: January 1, 2006

Observation of the membranes is useful for following applications:
  • Observation of the bilayer formation process.
  • Measurement of the bilayer area, what is necessary for calculation of membrane thickness.
Our first setup is shown on the figure.



Next we replaced the photocamera by a small internet camera. In this case we observed on the same screen in the same time the membrane capacitance and their picture in transmitted light. Next modiffications was using as light source a white LED lamp. It emmits much smaller amount of heat than classical lamps.