Efficient Lipid Bilayer Formation by Dipping Lipid-Loaded Microperforated Sheet in Aqueous Solution

Nobuo Misawa; Satoshi Fujii; Koki Kamiya; Toshihisa Osaki; Shoji Takeuchi

doi:10.3390/mi12010053

Efficient Lipid Bilayer Formation by Dipping Lipid-Loaded Microperforated Sheet in Aqueous Solution

Micromachines (Basel). 2021 Jan 5;12(1):53. doi: 10.3390/mi12010053.

Authors

Nobuo Misawa¹, Satoshi Fujii¹, Koki Kamiya¹, Toshihisa Osaki^{1

2}, Shoji Takeuchi^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Artificial Cell Membrane Systems Group, Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 213-0012, Japan.
² Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505, Japan.
³ Department of Mechano-Informatics, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.

Abstract

This paper describes a method for a bilayer lipid membrane (BLM) formation using a perforated sheet along with an open chamber. Microscopic observation of the formed membrane showed a typical droplet interface bilayer. We proved that the formed membrane was a BLM based on electrical measurements of the membrane protein α-hemolysin, which produces nanopores in BLMs. Unlike the conventional approach for BLM formation based on the droplet contact method, this method provides aqueous surfaces with no organic solvent coating layer. Hence, this method is suitable for producing BLMs that facilitate the direct addition of chemicals into the aqueous phase.

Keywords: bilayer lipid membrane; droplet interface bilayer; ion channel current; membrane protein; α-hemolysin.