Microchannel device using self-spreading lipid bilayer as molecule carrier

Abstract

We propose a microchannel device that employs a surface-supported self-spreading lipid bilayer membrane as a molecule carrying medium. The device has a micropattern structure fabricated on a SiO₂ surface by photolithography, into which a self-spreading lipid bilayer membrane is introduced as the carrier medium. This system corresponds to a microchannel with a single lipid bilayer membrane height of ∼5 nm, compared with conventional micro-fluidic channels that have a section height and width of at least several µm. The device is beneficial for detecting intermolecular interactions when molecules carried by the self-spreading lipid bilayer collide with each other in the microchannel. The validity of the device was confirmed by observing the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between two dye molecules, coumarin and fluorescein.