Analysis of Charge and potential of cells/membranes by Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy (CAT#: STEM-MB-1041-WXH)

Introduction

All living cells maintain a potential difference across their membrane. Simply stated, membrane potential is due to disparities in concentration and permeability of important ions across a membrane. Because of the unequal concentrations of ions across a membrane, the membrane has an electrical charge.
Changes in membrane potential elicit action potentials and give cells the ability to send messages around the body. More specifically, the action potentials are electrical signals; these signals carry efferent messages to the central nervous system for processing and afferent messages away from the brain to elicit a specific reaction or movement. Numerous active transports embedded within the cellular membrane contribute to the creation of membrane potentials, as well as the universal cellular structure of the lipid bilayer.