Deposition of lipid bilayers on OH-density-controlled silicon dioxide surfaces

• Published in: Journal of vacuum science & technology. A, Vacuum, surfaces, and films Vacuum, surfaces, and films, 2005-07, Vol.23 (4), p.751-754
• Main Authors: Tero, R., Urisu, T., Okawara, H., Nagayama, K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0734-2101; 1520-8559
• DOI: 10.1116/1.1943455

We investigated the effect of the SiO 2 surface hydrophilicity on the formation of lipid bilayer membranes using the vesicle fusion method with atomic force microscopy, and applied the results to constructing membrane arrays. We obtained SiO 2 surfaces with different hydrophilicity by annealing chemically oxidized SiO 2 surfaces at various temperatures under an N 2 flow. The membrane formation rate is faster on less hydrophilic surfaces after depositing a 100-nm-filtered vesicle of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine. Desorption of the surface hydroxyl groups causes a higher affinity between the lipid membrane and the substrate. We also describe a method to fabricate membrane arrays using "chemical patterning." When the surface hydroxyl groups are locally removed using a focused ion beam (FIB), a bilayer membrane selectively forms on the FIB-patterned region.