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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 14: Membranes and Vesicles
BP 14.4: Talk
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 10:30–10:45, H 1028
Local electric recordings of lipid bilayers supported on a microfabricated microporous device — •Theresa Kaufeld1, Conrad Weichbrodt2, Claudia Steinem2, and Christoph F. Schmidt1 — 1Drittes Physikalisches Institut — 2Fakultät für Chemie, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
A powerful approach to study membrane proteins is the reconstitution in model membranes. Methods for artificial bilayer formation are e.g. membranes on a solid support, or the classical BLM. We have here focused on the formation of lipid bilayers on porous substrates combining the stability of solid supports and the accessibility of both sides of the bilayer of the classical BLM which is necessary for electrical recordings of membrane channels. Commercially available porous substrates however are typically not suitable for low-noise electrical experiments or for a combination with further manipulation techniques. We therefore designed a microporous substrate meeting several demands: (i) To perform multiple experiments on one chip, we divided the device into arrays of pores with separate electrolyte compartments and integrated electrical connections. (ii) We designed a PDMS sample chamber in a way that allows us to perform electrical and fluorescence recordings at the same time and exchange solutions throughout the experiment. (iii) Large pores (1μm diameter) make it possible to address the bilayer with optically trapped particles. We probed bilayer formation by impedance spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy. The electrical properties of the substrate and the pores as well as the function of inserted ion channels are measured by current recordings.