Self-assembly and subsequent accumulation of lipid nanotubes at oil/water interfaces.
We utilized oil/water interfaces as a new field to produce lipid nanotubes (LNTs), which are formed by the self-assembly of lipid molecules, and possess hollow nanometer-wide cylindrical structures. Compared to the self-assembling field in bulk water, oil/water interfaces produced shorter lipids nanotubes less than 10 microm long more efficiently. In addition, we found that the oil/water interface accumulates lipid nanotubes spontaneously. This methodology is favorable to fabricate LNTs as new nano-fluidic devices, or sensors that require accumulation and alignment in two dimensions.
Yui
Hiroharu
H
CREST Japan Science and Technology Agency, Nanoarchitectonics Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba Central 4, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan. hiroharu-yui@aist.go.jp
Sawada
Daisuke
D
Kamiya
Shoko
S
Sawada
Tsuguo
T
Shimizu
Toshimi
T