High-throughput formation of lipid bilayer membrane arrays with an asymmetric lipid composition.
We present a micro-device in which more than 10,000 asymmetric lipid bilayer membranes are formed at a time on micro-chamber arrays. The arrayed asymmetric lipid bilayers, where lipid compositions are different between the inner and outer leaflets, are formed with high efficiency of over 97% by injecting several types of liquids into a micro-device that has hydrophilic-in-hydrophobic surfaces. The lipid compositional asymmetry is an intrinsic property of bio-membranes, and therefore, this micro-device extends the versatility of artificial lipid-bilayer systems, which were previously limited to symmetric bilayer formation, and could contribute to the understanding of the role of lipid compositional asymmetry in cell physiology and also to further analytical and pharmacological applications.
1] Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan [2] PRESTO, JST, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
Rikiya
R
Watanabe
Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
Naoki
N
Soga
Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
Tomoko
T
Yamanaka
Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
Hiroyuki
H
Noji