Synthetic chiral chromophoric bilayer membranes as chemical transducers: effect of alcohols on enhanced circular dichroism

A bilayer-forming synthetic lipid containing a chiral centre and a chromophoric group was investigated as a spectroscopic transducer, based on its enhanced circular dichroism (CD). The CD intensity of chiral bilayers was reduced with addition of alcohol. For ten additives tested, a linear correlation was observed between the CD spectral response to the alcohols and their partition coefficient (log P) in octanol/water system. By use of an immobilization technique, the bilayer film was obtained on a quartz plate, and a possible application as a solid-phase assay of methanol was demonstrated.