Colloidal supported lipid bilayers for self-assembly

Abstract

The use of colloidal supported lipid bilayers (CSLBs) has recently been extended to create colloidal joints, that - in analogy to their macroscopic counterparts - can flexibly connect colloidal particles. These novel elements enable the assembly of structures with internal degrees of flexibility, but rely on previously unappreciated properties: the simultaneous fluidity of the bilayer, lateral mobility of inserted (linker) molecules and colloidal stability. Here we characterize every step in the manufacturing of CSLBs in view of these requirements using confocal microscopy and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). Specifically, we have studied the influence of different particle properties (roughness, surface charge, chemical composition, polymer coating) on the quality and mobility of the supported bilayer. We find that the insertion of lipopolymers in the bilayer can affect its homogeneity and fluidity. We improve the colloidal stability by inserting lipopolymers or double-stranded inert DNA into the bilayer. Finally, we include surface-mobile DNA linkers and use FRAP to characterize their lateral mobility both in their freely diffusive and bonded state. Our work offers a collection of experimental tools for working with CSLBs in applications ranging from controlled bottom-up self-assembly to model membrane studies.

arXiv comment23 pages, 12 figures (includes Supporting Information)

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Programmable interactions with biomimetic DNA linkers at fluid membranes and interfaces
• Direct visualization of superselective colloid-surface binding mediated by multivalent interactions
• DNA self-organization controls valence in programmable colloid design
• Conformations and diffusion of flexibly linked colloidal chains
• Flexibility-induced effects in the Brownian motion of colloidal trimers
• Brownian motion of flexibly-linked colloidal rings
• Surface-triggered cascade reactions between DNA linkers direct self-assembly of colloidal crystals of controllable thickness
• Measuring Gaussian rigidity using curved substrates
• Lipid exchange enhances geometric pinning in multicomponent membranes on patterned substrates