TY - JOUR
AU - Sarles, Stephen A
AB - The droplet interface bilayer (DIB) is a simple technique for constructing a stable lipid bilayer at the interface of two lipid-encased water droplets submerged in oil. Networks of DIBs formed by connecting more than two droplets constitute a new form of modular biomolecular smart material, where the transduction properties of a single lipid bilayer can affect the actions performed at other interface bilayers in the network via diffusion through the aqueous environments of shared droplet connections. The passive electrical properties of a lipid bilayer and the arrangement of droplets that determine the paths for transport in the network require specific electrical control to stimulate and interrogate each bilayer. Here, we explore the use of virtual ground for electrodes inserted into specific droplets in the network and employ a multichannel patch clamp amplifier to characterize bilayer formation and ion-channel activity in a serial DIB array. Analysis of serial connections of DIBs is discussed to understand how assigning electrode connections to the measurement device can be used to measure activity across all lipid membranes within a network. Serial arrays of DIBs are assembled using the regulated attachment method within a multi-compartment flexible substrate, and wire-type electrodes inserted into each droplet compartment of the substrate enable the application of voltage and measurement of current in each droplet in the array.
TI - The use of virtual ground to control transmembrane voltages and measure bilayer currents in serial arrays of droplet interface bilayers
JF - Smart Materials and Structures
DO - 10.1088/0964-1726/22/9/094023
DA - 2013-09-01
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/iop-publishing/the-use-of-virtual-ground-to-control-transmembrane-voltages-and-alFJ6V8igc
SP - 094023
VL - 22
IS - 9
DP - DeepDyve
ER -