title: Stable lipid bilayers based on micro- and nano-fabrication as a platform for recording ion-channel activities.
abstract: In this review, we will discuss our recent approaches for the formation of mechanically stable bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) by combining with BLM formation and micro- and nano-fabrication techniques. BLMs were prepared across a microaperture fabricated in silicon (Si) chips or nanoporous alumina films using a minimized amount of organic solvent. Although BLMs spanned over the porous alumina film showed better electrical properties, such as background current noise and current transient, BLMs suspended in a thin Si(3)N(4) septum showed a much superior BLM stability. The BLMs showed tolerance to a high voltage of ±1 V, a membrane lifetime of >40 h, and tolerance to repetitive solution exchanges. Application to a drug screening system has been examined by using the human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) potassium channel as an illustrative example. The potentiality of the present system as a platform of the high-throughput analysis for ion-channel protein is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba, Aramaki, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. ahirano@bme.tohoku.ac.jp
authors.forename: Ayumi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirano-Iwata
authors.forename: Azusa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oshima
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mozumi
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niwano
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016062:Porosity; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; D012825:Silicon