Biophysical Journal 5: 591-606 (1965)
© 1965 the Biophysical Society

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The AC Impedance of Frog Skin and Its Relation to Active Transport

ABSTRACT

The AC electrical impedance of frog skin was measured in the range 1 cycle/second to 50 kc/second by injecting current sinusoidally at low current density. The behavior of the skin was found to be linear so the usual concepts of impedance could be validly employed. In the range 1 cycle/second to 5 kc/second, the impedance traces out a circular arc locus with its center off the real axis; thus the skin could be represented by a series resistance and a parallel combination of a conductance and a phase shift element. The phase shift element has an impedance angle of about 80°, current leading voltage, with an equivalent capacitance of about 2 µf/cm². The phase shift and the equivalent capacitance were independent of the experimental conditions. The parallel conductance, which was responsible for most of the low frequency impedance, could be subdivided into two approximately equal conductances, one associated with sodium ion current and the other associated with chloride ion current. Both currents were determined mainly by the concentrations of the respective ions bathing the outside of the skin. The response to changes in concentration and the response to CO₂ indicated that the chloride current was passive, but the sodium current appeared to be associated with the active transport mechanism; little sodium could pass through the skin unless associated with active transport.