| Abstract
| - This paper describes the use of glass and mesoporous silica microspheres (typically 1−50 μm) as supportsfor biomimetic lipid bilayer membrane architectures for use in biotechnological applications. We presentmethods and characterization of lipid bilayer membranes supported on commercially available glass beadsand mesoporous silica beads formed by an aerosol process that takes advantage of self-assembly of surfactanttemplate phases in sol−gel synthesis. Methods for controlling the concentration of fluorescent lipids,ligands, receptors, and transmembrane proteins in the bead-supported bilayer assemblies are discussed,along with methods for measuring the concentration of these species using flow cytometry. Diffusion ofmolecular species both within the lipid bilayer and within the mesoporous bead structure is probed usingfluorescence recovery after photobleaching. Flow cytometry and confocal fluorescence microscopy are usedto examine dye uptake of the porous beads and the stability of the encapsulating lipid bilayer membranesto proton and fluorophore leakage. The studies presented herein form the basis for the use of several newtypes of biomimetic bead-supported bilayer architectures in a variety of biotechnological applicationsincluding microimmunoassays and fluorescence-based high-throughput screening of biochemical recognitionand protein function.
|
