PHOTORESPONSIVE ARTIFICIAL MEMBRANE. REGULATION OF MEMBRANE PERMEABILITY OF LIPOSOMAL MEMBRANE BY PHOTOREVERSIBLE <i>CIS‐TRANS</i> ISOMERIZATION OF AZOBENZENES

Abstract

Abstract— Photoresponsive artificial membranes have been prepared by embedding amphiphatic alkyl‐ammonium salts containing azobenzene chromophore in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine liposomes. The configurational change due to trans→cis photoisomerization of the azobenzene chromophore provided the perturbation of the membrane structure to result in the increase of the water and bromo‐thymol blue permeability of the liposomal membranes.