title: Continuous planar phospholipid bilayer supported on porous silicon thin film reflector.
abstract: Reconstituting artificial membranes for in vitro studies of cell barrier mechanisms and properties is of major interest in biology. Here, artificial membranes supported on porous silicon photonic crystal reflectors are prepared and investigated. The materials are of interest for label-free probing of supported membrane events such as protein binding, molecular recognition, and transport. The porous silicon substrates are prepared as multilayered films consisting of a periodically varying porosity, with pore dimensions of a few nanometers in size. Planar phospholipid bilayers are deposited on the topmost surface of the oxidized hydrophilic mesoporous silicon films. Atomic force microscopy provides evidence of continuous bilayer deposition at the surface, and optical measurements indicate that the lipids do not significantly infiltrate the porous region. The presence of the supported bilayer does not obstruct the optical spectrum from the porous silicon layer, suggesting that the composite structures can act as effective optical biosensors.
authors.affiliation: Institut Charles Gerhardt, UMR 5253 CNRS/ENSCM/UM2/UM1, Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier, France. frederique.cunin@enscm.fr
authors.forename: Frédérique
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cunin
authors.forename: Pierre-Emmanuel
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Milhiet
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Anglin
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sailor
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Espenel
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Le Grimellec
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brunel
authors.forename: Jean-Marie
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Devoisselle
mesh_terms: D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D010743:Phospholipids; D012825:Silicon