title: Building interconnected membrane networks.
abstract: Reconstituted replica cell membranes are easily created by contacting two lipid-monolayer-encased aqueous droplets under an oil phase. Called the droplet interface bilayer (DIB), this technique has been used to study a wide range of membrane processes. Importantly, this method is compatible with electrical measurements, meaning that membrane protein activities are easily observed in DIBs. By positioning droplets in two- and three-dimensional networks, sophisticated interconnected systems can be created that possess collective properties. The methods described here summarize the approaches used to create DIB networks and how to operate the devices that have been constructed so far.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA. Electronic address: mholden@chem.umass.edu.
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Holden
mesh_terms: D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000378:metabolism; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D066292:Lipid Droplets / Q000378:metabolism*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016628:Replica Techniques; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D020100:Hydrogels; D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D008565:Membrane Proteins
keywords: Bilayer networks; Droplet interface bilayer; Functional networks; Ion channels; Lipid monolayers; Membrane assembly; Nanopores; Self-assembly