Microporous device for local electric recordings on model lipid bilayers

A powerful approach for characterizing lipid membranes and embedded proteins is the reconstitution of model lipid bilayers. The extreme fragility of 5 nm thick bilayers is a challenge for device design and requires a trade off of stability against accessibility. We here present a microporous lab-on-chip device that allows us to form stable, solvent-free lipid bilayers from giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) in a geometry that provides a unique set of access possibilities. The device is constructed around a micro-fabricated silicon chip with clusters of 1 µm-diameter pores and provides optical access to the lipid bilayers for high-NA epifluorescence imaging. At the same time, solvent exchange is possible on both sides of the lipid bilayer. Complete coverage can be achieved with GUVs, so that voltages can be applied across the lipid bilayer and single-channel currents can be measured using external or integrated silver/silver chloride electrodes. We describe the micro-fabrication by standard cleanroom techniques and the characterization of the device by atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and impedance spectroscopy. In proof-of-concept experiments we demonstrate that the device is capable of low-noise, single-ion-channel recordings. (paper)