title: Storable droplet interface lipid bilayers for cell-free ion channel studies.
abstract: An artificially created lipid bilayer is an important platform in studying ion channels and engineered biosensor applications. However, a lipid bilayer created using conventional techniques is fragile and short-lived, and the measurement of ion channels requires expertise and laborious procedures, precluding practical applications. Here, we demonstrate a storable droplet lipid bilayer precursor frozen with ion channels, resulting in a droplet interface bilayer upon thawing. A small vial with an aqueous droplet in organic solution was flash frozen in -80 °C methanol immediately after an aqueous droplet was introduced into the organic solution and gravity draws the droplet down to the interface upon thawing. A lipid bilayer created along the interface using this method had giga-ohm resistance and typical specific capacitance values. The noise level of this system is favorably comparable to the conventional system. The subsequent incorporation of ion channels, alpha-hemolysin and gramicidin A, showed typical conductance values consistent with those in previous literatures. This novel system to create a lipid bilayer as a whole can be automated from its manufacture to use and indefinitely stored when frozen. As a result, ion channel measurements can be carried out in any place, increasing the accessibility of ion channel studies as well as a number of applications, such as biosensors, ion channel drug screening, and biophysical studies.
authors: Department of Biological Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, Korea.
authors: Sung-Ho
authors: SH
authors: Jung
authors: Sangbaek
authors: S
authors: Choi
authors: Young-Rok
authors: YR
authors: Kim
authors: Tae-Joon
authors: TJ
authors: Jeon
mesh_terms: D004356:Drug Storage; D017097:Electric Impedance; D015640:Ion Channel Gating; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000737:chemistry*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D008051:Lipid Bilayers