title: Microchannel device using self-spreading lipid bilayer as molecule carrier.
abstract: We propose a microchannel device that employs a surface-supported self-spreading lipid bilayer membrane as a molecule carrying medium. The device has a micropattern structure fabricated on a SiO2 surface by photolithography, into which a self-spreading lipid bilayer membrane is introduced as the carrier medium. This system corresponds to a microchannel with a single lipid bilayer membrane height of approximately 5 nm, compared with conventional micro-fluidic channels that have a section height and width of at least several microm. The device is beneficial for detecting intermolecular interactions when molecules carried by the self-spreading lipid bilayer collide with each other in the microchannel. The validity of the device was confirmed by observing the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between two dye molecules, coumarin and fluorescein.
authors.affiliation: NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan 243-0198. furukawa@nttbrl.jp
authors.forename: Kazuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakashima
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kashimura
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Torimitsu
mesh_terms: D003374:Coumarins / Q000737:chemistry; D019793:Fluorescein / Q000737:chemistry; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D012822:Silicon Dioxide
chemical_list: D003374:Coumarins; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; C030123:coumarin; D019793:Fluorescein