AVS 46th International Symposium
    Biomaterial Interfaces Group Wednesday Sessions
       Session BI-WeP

Paper BI-WeP17
Tethering Phospholipid Bilayers to Porous Substrates, Progress Towards Biosensor Development

Wednesday, October 27, 1999, 5:30 pm, Room 4C

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: S.D. Ogier, Leeds University, UK
Authors: S.D. Ogier, Leeds University, UK
S.D. Evans, Leeds University, UK
R.E. Miles, Leeds University, UK
Correspondent: Click to Email
This poster concerns work currently being undertaken at Leeds University on the development of a biosensor based on ion channel conductivity. Our approach aims to span a lipid bilayer containing ligand gated ion channels across a hole micro-machined in a solid support. Electrodes either side of this hole allow the electrical properties of the bilayer to be monitored. The device employs a 0.1mm hole micro-machined in a solid support with a gold surface patterned around it. This enables us to modify the surface that the bilayer has to sit upon in order to create the conditions necessary for bilayer formation over the hole. Micro-machining of substrates has been used in a few cases to create architectures to suspend lipid bilayers and most of these use the solvent spreading method of Montal et al. or Langmuir Blodgett transfer. Although these techniques will be suitable for bilayer formation on the device, it is our aim to self-assemble the bilayer over the hole. This could be a very useful method of formation since it is a simple technique, however it does require the hole to have a similar diameter to the vesicle. The bilayer's electrical resistance is measured by applying a small (20mV) potential difference between two silver/silver chloride electrodes, one either side of the hole, and monitoring the current flowing between them. Although we have not yet achieved self-assembly over the holes, as they are too large, a bilayer formed using a solvent spreading method produced an electrical seal in the 10GOhm range.