EN
The relative partition of trialkyltin and dialkyltin chlorides into the phosphatidylcholine membrane was estimated with a fluorescein dye attached to the phosphatidylethanolamine headgroup (Fluorescein-PE). Changes of pH in the vicinity of the membrane, caused by the adsorption of charged organotin compounds onto the surface, are measured with Fluorescein-PE. Measurements show that dialkyltin and trialkyltin chlorides at low concentrations (below 4 µM) adsorb onto the membrane surface in the charged form and that their relative partition depends on the length of the hydrocarbon residues. Tributyltin chloride was found to be the exception. Its effect on Fluorescein-PE fluorescence in the lipid bilayer was a complex dependence on its concentration in the sample, suggesting conformational changes in the lipid bilayer.