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Polydopamine Coating To Stabilize a Free-Standing Lipid Bilayer for Channel Sensing.

Alexander NeveshkinFunda CitakVincent BallMathias Winterhalter
Published in: Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids (2017)
An appropriate method to study the function of membrane channels is to insert them into free-standing lipid bilayers and to record the ion conductance across the membrane. The insulating property of a free-standing lipid bilayer versus the single-channel conductivity provides sufficient sensitivity to detect minor changes in the pathway of ions along the channel. A potential application is to use membrane channels as label-free sensors for molecules, with DNA sequencing as its most prominent application. However, the inherent instability of free-standing bilayers limits broader use as a biosensor. Here we report on a possible stabilization of free-standing lipid bilayers using polydopamine deposition from dopamine-containing solutions in the presence of an oxidant. This stabilization treatment can be initiated after protein reconstitution and is compatible with most reconstitution protocols.
Keyphrases
  • label free
  • molecular dynamics simulations
  • quantum dots
  • small molecule
  • single molecule
  • protein protein
  • cell free
  • human health