Lipid membranes supported by polydimethylsiloxane substrates with designed geometry

Soft Matter, vol. 20, pp. 7379–7386

Abstract

model membranes with engineered curvature would provide a versatile platform for this investigation and applications to biosensing and biocomputing. Here, we present a strategy that allows fabrication of lipid membranes with designed shape by combining 3D micro-printing and replica-molding lithography with polydimethylsiloxane to create curved micrometer-sized scaffolds with virtually any geometry. The resulting supported lipid membranes are homogeneous and fluid. We demonstrate the versatility of the system by fabricating structures of interesting combinations of mean and Gaussian curvature. We study the lateral phase separation and how local curvature influences the effective diffusion coefficient. Overall, we offer a bio-compatible platform for understanding curvature-dependent cellular processes and developing programmable bio-interfaces for living cells and nanostructures.

Authors 7

1. Melissa Rinaldin corresponding Aachen Instituut-Lorentz

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, Leiden, 2300 RA, The Netherlands

   Leiden Institute of Physics, University of Leiden, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

2. Sebastiaan L. D. ten Haaf Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Institute of Physics, University of Leiden, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

3. Ernst J. Vegter Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Institute of Physics, University of Leiden, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

4. Casper van der Wel Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Institute of Physics, University of Leiden, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

5. Piermarco Fonda Aachen Instituut-Lorentz

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, Leiden, 2300 RA, The Netherlands

6. Luca Giomi Aachen Instituut-Lorentz

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, Leiden, 2300 RA, The Netherlands

7. Daniela J. Kraft corresponding Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden Institute of Physics, University of Leiden, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands