Direct printing of self-assembled lipid tubules on substrates.
Lipid tubules formed by rolled-up bilayer sheets have shown promise in drug delivery systems, nanofluidics, and microelectronics. Here we report a method for directly printing lipid tubules on substrates. Preformed lipid tubules of 1,2-bis(tricosa-10,12-diynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine are aligned in the recessed channels of a thin poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamp. The aligned lipid tubules then serve as an "ink" for microcontact printing. We demonstrate that two-dimensional (2-D) arrays of aligned lipid tubules can be transferred onto planar, patterned, and curved substrates from the recessed channels of the PDMS stamp by bringing the tubule-inked PDMS stamp into contact with these substrates. We show that the 2-D array of aligned lipid tubules can be transcribed into a 2-D array of aligned silica cylinders through templated sol-gel condensation of tetraethoxysilane.
Zhao
Yue
Y
Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center and Department of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32816, USA.
Fang
Jiyu
J
D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
D008055:Lipids