Approaches toward functional fluid supported lipid bilayers

Planar supported lipid bilayers (PSLBs) have attracted immense interest for their properties as model cell membranes and for potential applications in biosensors and lab-on-a-chip devices. Our study covers three aspects of the construction, characterization, and application of functional PSLBs.; First, a combination of micro-fabrication, the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique, and fusion of extruded small unilamellar vesicle (E-SUVs) in sequence was used to create polymer-cushioned PSLBs in a microarray format. Random lipo-glycocopolymer mixed with L-alpha-phosphatidylcholine (egg PC) was compressed at the air-water interface and transferred onto the photoresist-patterned substrate by the LB technique to achieve spatially directed deposition. Construction of planar bilayers in an aqueous environment was subsequently completed by vesicle fusion. Epifluorescence microscopy, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), and electrophoresis-relaxation were employed to examine the resulting patterns as well as to verify the two-dimensional mobility of the supported membrane systems. This approach could possibly provide a useful route to create functional arrays of polymer-supported lipid bilayers.; Second, we report the formation of fluid planar biomembranes on hydrophilic silica aerogels and xerogels. When the aerogel/xerogel was pre-hydrated and then allowed to incubate in egg PC E-SUV solution, lipid bilayers were formed due to the favorable interaction of vesicles with the hydroxyl-abundant silica surface. FRAP was used to determine the lateral diffusivity of membranes on aerogels. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) was used to monitor the kinetics of the irreversible adsorption and fusion of vesicles into bilayers on xerogel thin films.; Finally, we compared the formation of PSLBs with and without incorporation of monosialoganglioside GM1 (GM1) as the antigen for in situ antibody binding. Quantifiable differences were observed in the transformation of egg PC E-SUVs containing 0 mol%, 2 mol%, and 5 mol% GM1 to PSLBs by vesicle fusion on thermally evaporated silicon dioxide surfaces, as monitored by the QCM-D technique. FRAP was utilized to verify the retained, albeit reduced, fluidity of the GM1-containing PSLBs. Our analysis of rabbit serum antibodies binding to GM1 demonstrates this platform can be used to test for the presence of anti-lipid antibodies in serum.