The process of self-assembly and the electromechanical properties of bilayer lipid membranes (BLM) were investigated. The membranes were made of phosphatidylcholine with the addition of bolaamphiphilic steroid dimer. The membranes were formed using the Mueller-Rudin method. Membrane formation in the presence of the dimer was much faster and they were more stable than those formed in the absence of the dimer. The membranes formed by this method usually contain residues of a solvent used in the formation process which increases membrane thickness. Thus, the membranes formed from pure phosphatidylcholine had an average thickness of 5.9 nm. The addition of steroid dimer to the forming solution caused the thickness to decrease to 3.9 nm. An external voltage applied to the bilayer lipid membranes caused electrocompression. The presence of bolaamphiphilic steroid dimer in the membranes decreased the electrocompressibility by approximately 20 times. The dimer molecules „spanned” both monolayers of the membranes and caused the membrane thickness to decrease during their formation. The presence of the dimer in the membrane limited the mobility of solvent inside the membrane. The membranes formed with the dimer have such properties as thickness, stability, resistance, breakdown voltage, electrocompressibility, and time of formation more adequate for their application as a biomembrane model and support for sensors based on biomembrane molecules.
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