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A method has been designed for patterning supported phospholipid bilayers (SLBs) on planar substrates and inside microfluidic channels. To do this, bovine serum albumin (BSA) monolayers were formed via adsorption at the liquid/solid interface. Next, this interfacial protein film was selectively patterned by using deep UV lithography. Subsequently, SLBs could be deposited in the patterned locations by vesicle fusion. By cycling through this process several times, spatially addressed bilayer arrays could be formed with intervening protein molecules serving as two-dimensional corrals. By employing this method, phospholipid bilayers containing various concentrations of ganglioside GM1 were addressed along the length of individual microfluidic channels. Therefore, the binding of GM1 with pentameric cholera toxin B (CTB) subunits could be probed. A seven-channel microfluidic device was fabricated for this purpose. Each channel was simultaneously patterned with four chemically distinct SLBs containing 0, 0.2, 0.5, and 2.0 mol % GM1, respectively. Varying concentrations of CTB were then introduced into each of the channels. With the use of total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, it was possible to simultaneously abstract multiple equilibrium dissociation constants as a function of ligand density for the CTB-GM1 system in a single shot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated specific ion effects on interfacial water structure next to macromolecules with vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy (VSFS). Poly-(N-isopropylacrylamide) was adsorbed at the air! water interface for this purpose. It was found that the presence of salt in the subphase could induce the reorganization of water adjacent to the macromolecule and that the changes depended greatly on the specific identity and concentration of the salt employed. Ranked by their propensity to orient interfacial water molecules, sodium salts could be placed in the following order: NaSCN > NaCIO4 > Nal > NaNO3 ≈ NaBr> NaCl > pure water ≈ NaF Na2SO4. This ordering is a Hofmeister series. On the other hand, varying the identity of the cation exhibited virtually no effect. We also showed that the oscillator strength in the OH stretch region was linearly related to changes in the surface potential caused by anion adsorption. This fact allowed binding isotherms to be abstracted from the VSFS data. Such results offer direct evidence that interfacial water structure can be predominantly the consequence of macromolecule—ion interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present studies explore multivalent ligand-receptor interactions between pentameric cholera toxin B subunits (CTB) and the corresponding membrane ligand, ganglioside GM1. CTB binding was monitored on supported phospholipid bilayers coated on the walls and floors of microfluidic channels. Measurements were made by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRFM). Apparent dissociation constants were extracted by fitting the binding data to both the Hill-Waud and Langmuir adsorption isotherm equations. Studies of the effect of ligand density on multivalent CTB-GM1 interactions revealed that binding weakened with increasing GM1 density from 0.02 mol % to 10.0 mol %. Such a result could be explained by the clustering of GM1 on the supported phospholipid membranes, which in turn inhibited the binding of CTB. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments directly verified GM1 clustering within the supported POPC bilayers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the ambivalent antibody binding on fluid-supported phospholipid membranes. Effect of hapten density on phospholipid membranes; Ligand-receptor binding between bivalent antibodies and membrane-boun ligands; Function of hapten density in a two-dimensionally fluid environment.

Examines the method of microfluidic measurement to generate a linear temperature gradient for parallel data and combinatorial measurements. Involvement of short length scales of microfluidics; Extension of method to protein crystallization; Additional variable of temperature in combinatorial tool box.

Investigates the design and characterization of immobilized enzymes in microfluidic systems. Possibility of rapid determination of enzyme kinetics by laminar flow controlled dilution; Mechanism of the enzyme immobilization on multiple chemical reactions; Employment of avidinD-conjugated glucose oxidase and streptavidin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase.

Describes a class of microfluidic immunoassays based upon solid supported lipid bilayers. Characteristics of the fluid bilayers used in the experiment; Method of deriving an entire binding curve in a single experiment; Advantages of the methodology for performing heterogeneous assays developed in the experiment over traditional procedures.

Reports on the use of microcontact displacement to generate addressable arrays of aqueous solutions above fluid lipid bilayers. Use of a patterned poly(dimethylsiloxane) mold; Conformal contact of the mold with a phospholipid membrane on a solid supported substrate; Use of the procedure for screening a small library of aqueous-phase molecules.

Herein, we developed a new separation-based detection method that is capable of simultaneously identifying multiple competitively binding proteins for the same ligand on supported lipid bilayers (SLBs). This strategy used unlabeled target analyte proteins that bind to fluorescently tagged, lipid-conjugated ligands within the SLB. The protein-ligand binding complexes were then focused under an applied potential to different locations within the SLB based on each protein's size and charge. Both protein identity and relative surface concentration information could be obtained, simultaneously. Specifically, the competitive binding of streptavidin and goat anti-biotin for biotin-conjugated lipids was explored. It was found that streptavidin could inhibit the binding of goat anti-biotin antibodies for biotin-cap-1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-(7-nitro-2-1,3-benzoxadiazol-4-yl)(biotin-cap-NBD-PE) lipids and that streptavidin more effectively outcompeted the anti-biotin antibody at lower protein concentrations. Also, modulating the chemical composition of the membrane helped control the ultimate focusing position and separation of the streptavidin-bound biotin, anti-biotin-bound biotin, and free biotin-conjugated lipid bands. The assay developed herein provides a simple and convenient strategy for simultaneously monitoring target analytes that bind to the identical ligand and may ultimately be useful in developing assays that help overcome problems associated with cross-reactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have monitored the production of the negatively charged lipid, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidic acid acid (POPA), in supported lipid bilayers via the enzymatic hydrolysis of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (PC), a zwitterionic lipid. Experiments were performed with phospholipase D (PLD) in a Ca2+ dependent fashion. The strategy for doing this involved using membrane-bound streptavidin as a biomarker for the charge on the membrane. The focusing position of streptavidin in electrophoretic-electroosmotic focusing (EEF) experiments was monitored via a fluorescent tag on this protein. The negative charge increased during these experiments due to the formation of POPA lipids. This caused the focusing position of streptavidin to migrate toward the negatively charged electrode. With the use of a calibration curve, the amount of POPA generated during this assay could be read out from the intact membrane, an objective that has been otherwise difficult to achieve because of the lack of unique chromophores on PA lipids. On the basis of these results, other enzymatic reactions involving the change in membrane charge could also be monitored in a similar way. This would include phosphorylation, dephosphorylation, lipid biosynthesis, and additional phospholipase reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electrophoretic-electroosmotic focusing (EEF) method was developed and used to separate membrane-bound proteins and charged lipids based on their charge-to-size ratio from an initially homogeneous mixture. EEF uses opposing electrophoretic and electroosmotic forces to focus and separate proteins and lipids into narrow bands on supported lipid bilayers (SLBs). Membrane-associated species were focused into specific positions within the SLB in a highly repeatable fashion. The steady-state focusing positions of the proteins could be predicted and controlled by tuning experimental conditions, such as buffer pH, ionic strength, electric field, and temperature. Careful tuning of the variables should enable one to separate mixtures of membrane proteins with only subtle differences. The EEF technique was found to be an effective way to separate protein mixtures with low initial concentrations, and it overcame diffusive peak broadening to allow four bands to be separated simultaneously within a 380 μm wide isolated supported membrane patch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein ion-channel recordings using a glass nanopore (GNP) membrane as the support structure for lipid bilayer membranes are presented. The GNP membrane is composed of a single conical-shaped nanopore embedded in a ∼50 μm-thick glass membrane chemically modified with a 3-cyanopropyldi- methylchlorosilane monolayer to produce a surface of intermediate hydrophobicity. This surface modification results in lipid monolayer formation on the glass surface and a lipid bilayer suspended across the small orifice (100–400 nm-radius) of the GNP membrane, while allowing aqueous solutions to fully wet the glass nanopore. The GNP membrane/bilayer structures, which exhibit ohmic seal resistances of ∼70 GΩ and electrical breakdown voltages of ∼0.8 V, are exceptionally stable to mechanical disturbances and have lifetimes of at least 2 weeks. These favorable characteristics result from the very small area of bilayer (10-10-10-8 cm²) that is suspended across the GNP membrane orifice. Fluorescence microscopy and vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy demonstrate that a lipid monolayer forms on the 3-cyanopropyl- dimethylchlorosilane modified glass surface with the lipid tails oriented toward the glass. The GNP membrane/bilayer structure is well suited for single ion-channel recordings. Reproducible insertion of the protein ion channel, wild-type α-hemolysin (WTαHL), and stochastic detection of a small molecule, heptakis- (6-O-sulfo)-β-cyclodextrin, are demonstrated. In addition, the insertion and removal of WTαHL channels are reproducibly controlled by applying small pressures (-100 to 350 mmHg) across the lipid bilayer. The electrical and mechanical stability of the bilayer, the ease of which bilayer formation is achieved, and the ability to control ion-channel insertion, coupled with the small bilayer capacitance of the GNP membrane-based system, provide a new and nearly optimal system for single ion-channel recordings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) formation is the macroscopic completion of liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), a process by which aqueous solutions demix into 2 distinct phases. We report the temperature-dependent kinetics of ATPS formation for solutions containing a monoclonal antibody and polyethylene glycol. Measurements are made by capturing dark-field images of protein-rich droplet suspensions as a function of time along a linear temperature gradient. The rate constants for ATPS formation fall into 3 kinetically distinct categories that are directly visualized along the temperature gradient. In the metastable region, just below the phase separation temperature, Tph, ATPS formation is slow and has a large negative apparent activation energy. By contrast, ATPS formation proceeds more rapidly in the spinodal region, below the metastable temperature, Tmeta, and a small positive apparent activation energy is observed. These region-specific apparent activation energies suggest that ATPS formation involves 2 steps with opposite temperature dependencies. Droplet growth is the first step, which accelerates with decreasing temperature as the solution becomes increasingly supersaturated. The second step, however, involves droplet coalescence and is proportional to temperature. It becomes the rate-limiting step in the spinodal region. At even colder temperatures, below a gelation temperature, Tgel, the proteins assemble into a kinetically trapped gel state that arrests ATPS formation. The kinetics of ATPS formation near Tgel is associated with a remarkably fragile solid-like gel structure, which can form below either the metastable or the spinodal region of the phase diagram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) is notoriously difficult to incorporate into model membrane systems, such as fluid supported lipid bilayers (SLBs), at high concentrations because of its intrinsic negative curvature. Using fluorescence-based techniques, we demonstrate that having fewer sites of unsaturation in the lipid tails leads to high-quality SLBs because these lipids help to minimize the curvature. Moreover, shorter saturated chains can help maintain the membranes in the fluid phase. Using these two guidelines, we find that up to 70 mol % PE can be incorporated into SLBs at room temperature and up to 90 mol % PE can be incorporated at 37 °C. Curiously, conditions under which three-dimensional tubules project outward from the planar surface as well as conditions under which domain formation occurs can be found. We have employed these model membrane systems to explore the ability of Ni2+ to bind to PE. It was found that this transition metal ion binds 1000-fold tighter to PE than to phosphatidylcholine lipids. In the future, this platform could be exploited to monitor the binding of other transition metal ions or the binding of antimicrobial peptides. It could also be employed to explore the physical properties of PE-containing membranes, such as phase domain behavior and intermolecular hydrogen bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on lithosynthesis process using luminescent cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) thin film. It states that the ability of QD to create spatially addressable platforms with selective optical properties can be used to enhance various applications such as optoelectronics. It illustrates the visible light illumination using CdSe QD thin films and the QDs reversible surface modification.

Herein, we utilized a label-free sensing platform based on pH modulation to detect the interactions between tetracaine, a positively charged small molecule used as a local anesthetic, and planar supported lipid bilayers (SLBs). The SLBs were patterned inside a flow cell, allowing for various concentrations of tetracaine to be introduced over the surface in a buffer solution. Studies with membranes containing POPC (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) yielded an equilibrium dissociation constant value of Kd = 180 ± 47 μm for this small molecule–membrane interaction. Adding cholesterol to the SLBs decreased the affinity between tetracaine and the bilayers, while this interaction tightened when POPE (1-hexadecanoyl-2-(9-Z-octadecenoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine) was added. Studies were also conducted with three negatively charged membrane lipids, POPG (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1'-rac-glycerol) (sodium salt)), POPS (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-l-serine (sodium salt)), and ganglioside GM1. All three measurements gave rise to a similar tightening of the apparent Kd value compared with pure POPC membranes. The lack of chemical specificity with the identity of the negatively charged lipid indicated that the tightening was largely electrostatic. Through a direct comparison with ITC measurements, it was found that the pH modulation sensor platform offers a facile, inexpensive, highly sensitive, and rapid method for the detection of interactions between putative drug candidates and lipid bilayers. As such, this technique may potentially be exploited as a screen for drug development and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]