Contribution of electrodiffusion to the dynamics of electrically stimulated changes in mechanical properties of collagen membranes

We have studied the kinetics of oscillatory tensile forces in collagen membranes. These forces were generated by sinusoidal electric fields applied across the membrane. Both the magnitude and phase of the measured force changed with frequency over a three‐decade range. The membrane‐separated electrolyte baths had different ionic strength but identical non‐isoelectric pH. Changes in intramembrane ionic strength due to the electric field were calculated over the same frequency range via an electrodiffusion model that was generalized to include convection and electrokinetic coupling. A comparison of the experimental and theoretical phases and amplitudes versus frequency suggests that electrodiffusion is the dominant rate‐limiting process in this electromechanochemical transduction. These results are relevant to electrostatic interactions in connective tissues and to membrane‐based filtration devices in which membrane permeability may be actively varied and controlled by an applied electric field.