Kinetics of molecular transport across a liposome bilayer

Transport of the organic molecule malachite green, across a bilayer of dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol liposome in aqueous solution, has been observed using a new method, namely second harmonic generation (SHG). Following the rapid mixing of liposome and malachite green solutions, a decay of the SHG signal in time is observed as the malachite green bound to the outer liposome surface crosses to the inner liposome surface. The effect of liquid-crystalline versus gel liposome structures on the transport across the bilayer is reported also.