"The book caters to a diverse readership. It is packed with highly informative and sometimes highly readable chapters suitable both for a person new to the area and someone wanting to expand their knowledge in the emerging areas. Some of the chapters are well written, easy to read and provide good introductions to the various aspects of BLMs. Other chapters are more specialized and suited to those working on specific aspects. Parts of the book could be useful in undergraduate and graduate teaching." --BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES, volume 22, 2003

• I. Lipid bilayer principle of biomembranesThe lipid bilayer concept: Experimental realization and current applications; Dielectric and Electrical Properties of Lipid Bilayers in Relation to their StructureII. Ion Selectivity, Specificity, and Membrane ReconstitutionInvestigation of substrate-specific porin channels in lipid bilayer membranes; Reconstitution in planar lipid bilayers of ion channels synthesized in ovo and in vitroIII. BiotechnologySystems Aspects of Supported Membrane Biosensors; Biosensors from interactions of DNA with lipid membranesIV. Light-induced phenomena and spectroscopyPhotoinduced Charge Separation in Lipid Bilayers; Photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes in planar lipid membranes