ONE PUSH MEMBRANE FORMATION FOR ITERATIVE MEASUREMENT OF ION CHANNEL ACTIVITY ON ARRAYED CHIP

This paper reports a tracing device for the simultaneous formation of planar lipid bilayers on an arrayed double-well chip and repetitive measurements of ion channel activities. Artificial membrane systems are excellent platforms for studying ion channels at the single-molecule level. However, since single-molecule measurements can detect differences in the activity of individual ion channel molecules, a large amount of data is required to converge the measurement results. Here we develop a device with small teeth that move up and down to trace micro holes for forming membranes and detecting ion channel activities repetitively. The device is demonstrated using a 16-channel arrayed double-well chip, realizing efficient membrane formation and repetitive detection of ion channel signals per unit time.

Automated summary

This paper presents a device that can simultaneously form planar lipid bilayers and repetitively measure ion channel activities on an arrayed double-well chip. Artificial membrane systems provide excellent platforms for studying single-molecule ion channels. However, since single-molecule measurements can detect differences in individual ion channel activity, a large amount of data is required to converge measurement results. The device developed in this study uses small teeth to trace micro holes for membrane formation and repetitive ion channel detection.