Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 13: Posters: Biological Membranes

BP 13.5: Poster

Monday, March 14, 2011, 17:15–20:00, P3

Pore-spanning lipid bilayers on microchips — •Theresa Kaufeld and Christoph F. Schmidt — Drittes Physikalisches Institut, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Pore-spanning lipid bilayers (nano- or micro-black-lipid membranes (BLM)) are useful for reconstituting and studying ion channels. These bilayers combine the stability of solid-supported membranes and the accessibility to both sides of the bilayer of classical BLMs. Due to defects in the bilayers it is, however, difficult to create fully electrically isolating membranes. In order to make experiments more effective it is desirable to construct several small arrays of pore-spanning lipid bilayers, which are individually addressable for electrical recordings.

We have therefore designed microchips for simultaneous electrical recording and fluorescence microscopy to study ion channels. The substrates were produced using standard clean-room techniques. Apertures of micrometer size were etched into silicon nitride membranes forming several porous microarrays. Integrated Ag/AgCl electrodes surrounding each microarray were fabricated by chemical vapour deposition to make them individually addressable for electrical recordings and to be able to switch between the microarrays during the measurement. The substrates were further functionalized by depositing a titanium/gold layer on the microporous arrays. A self-assembled octadecane-thiol monolayer was grown via thiol-gold interaction to stabilize the lipid bilayers. Lipid bilayers were formed by GUV-spreading. The substrates and lipid bilayers were visualized by fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy.