What's a Lipid Monolayer?

A lipid monolayer is formed from spreading a solution of lipids dissolved in a volatile solvent such as pentane on a water surface.

What is lipid monolayer?

Lipid monolayers are used as experimental model systems to study the physical chemical properties of biomembranes. With this purpose, surface pressure/area per molecule isotherms provide a way to obtain information on packing and compressibility properties of the lipids.

What is a monolayer membrane?

Langmuir monolayers are commonly used to mimic cell membrane to study the effects of pharmaceuticals or toxins. In cell culture a monolayer refers to a layer of cells in which no cell is growing on top of another, but all are growing side by side and often touching each other on the same growth surface.