Selective arrangement of vesicles on artificial lipid membrane by biotin-avidin interaction

Lipid bilayers suspended over microwells on Si substrates are promising platforms for nanobiodevices that mimic cell membranes. Using the biotin-avidin interaction, we have succeeded in selectively arranging vesicles on the freestanding region of a lipid bilayer. When ternary lipid mixtures of saturated lipid, unsaturated lipid, and cholesterol are used, they separate into liquid-order (L (o)) and liquid-crystalline (L ( alpha )) domains. A freestanding lipid bilayer prefers the L ( alpha )-phase over the L (o)-phase because of the difference in their flexibility. In addition, the type of biotinylated lipid determines whether it is localized in the L ( alpha )-phase domain or the L (o)-phase domain. As a result, the biotinylated unsaturated lipids localized in the L ( alpha )-phase domain aggregate in the freestanding lipid bilayer, and vesicles labeled with biotin selectively bind to the freestanding lipid bilayer by the biotin-avidin interaction. This technique helps to introduce biomolecules into the freestanding lipid bilayer of nanobiodevices via vesicles.

Automated summary

Lipid bilayers suspended over microwells on Si substrates are promising platforms for nanobiodevices that mimic cell membranes. By using the biotin-avidin interaction, vesicles can be selectively arranged on the freestanding region of the lipid bilayer, facilitating the introduction of biomolecules into the nanobiodevices.