Peptide-induced permeabilization of lipid vesicles has been measured for decades and has provided many insights into the sequence–structure–function relationships of membrane-active peptides. However, researchers in the field have noted that many experiments show transient permeabilization, in which a burst of leakage occurs immediately after peptide addition, followed by a slow-down or cessation of leakage before all contents have been released. This widely observed, but rarely studied, phenomenon is not explained by standard equilibrium pore models that are commonly invoked in both experimental and computational studies. Here, we discuss observations of transient permeabilization, and we outline a pathway towards understanding this enigmatic phenomenon.

肽诱导的脂质囊泡通透性已有数十​​年的测量历史，并为膜活性肽的序列-结构-功能关系提供了许多见解。但是，该领域的研究人员已经注意到，许多实验显示出短暂的通透性，其中在添加肽后立即发生泄漏突发，然后在释放所有内含物之前减慢或停止泄漏。在实验和计算研究中通常都引用的标准平衡孔模型无法解释这种现象，但这种现象广为人知，但很少研究。在这里，我们讨论了瞬态磁化现象的观察结果，并概述了理解这种神秘现象的途径。