AVS 50th International Symposium
    Biomaterial Interfaces Wednesday Sessions
       Session BI+SS-WeA

Paper BI+SS-WeA4
Characterization of Lipid Bilayers on Functionalized Surfaces

Wednesday, November 5, 2003, 3:00 pm, Room 307

Session: Biomolecular Surface Science and Microfluidics
Presenter: T.W. McBee, University of Arizona
Authors: T.W. McBee, University of Arizona
S. Saavedra, University of Arizona
Correspondent: Click to Email
The utilization of planar supported lipid bilayers (PSLBs) for technological applications is limited by their fragility. They can be destroyed by a variety of conditions, including exposure to air, surfactants, and mechanical stress such as elevated temperatures. One way to overcome this limitation is to introduce polymerizable groups into the tail region of the lipid molecules and stabilize the bilayer structure through polymerization, which results in a very stable film when formed on silica. We have been investigating the characteristics of lipid bilayers, both polymerized and unpolymerized, on a variety of functionalized surfaces, including self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) as well as self-assembled polymer multilayers compared to bilayers formed on silica. This talk will focus on our investigations of PSLBs on γ-aminopropyl silane (GAPS) monolayers as well as on mixtures of polyaniline/poly(acrylic acid). These types of surfaces are of interest due to their potential for energy transduction and sensing applications.