Control of artificial membrane fusion in physiological ionic solutions beyond the limits of electroformation

Membrane fusion, merging two lipid bilayers, is crucial for fabricating artificial membrane structures. Over the past 40 years, in contrast to precise and controllable membrane fusion in-vivo through specific molecules such as SNAREs, controlling the fusion in-vitro while fabricating artificial memb...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2024-05, Vol.15 (1), p.4524-4524, Article 4524
Main Authors: Kim, Bong Kyu, Kang, Dong-Hyun, Woo, Junhyuk, Yoon, Wooseung, Ryu, Hyunil, Han, Kyungreem, Chung, Seok, Kim, Tae Song
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
13
13/62
631/1647/2204
631/45/287/1192
631/57/2270
631/57/2271
Controllability
Electric fields
Electroforming
Electrolytes
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hydraulic pressure
Hydrogels - chemistry
Ions - chemistry
Lipid bilayers
Lipid Bilayers - chemistry
Lipid Bilayers - metabolism
Lipids
Membrane Fusion
Membrane structures
Membranes
Membranes, Artificial
multidisciplinary
Peptides - chemistry
Physiology
Pore size
Pressure
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Tuning
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Membrane fusion, merging two lipid bilayers, is crucial for fabricating artificial membrane structures. Over the past 40 years, in contrast to precise and controllable membrane fusion in-vivo through specific molecules such as SNAREs, controlling the fusion in-vitro while fabricating artificial membrane structures in physiological ionic solutions without fusion proteins has been a challenge, becoming a significant obstacle to practical applications. We present an approach consisting of an electric field and a few kPa hydraulic pressure as an additional variable to physically control the fusion, enabling tuning of the shape and size of the 3D freestanding lipid bilayers in physiological ionic solutions. Mechanical model analysis reveals that pressure-induced parallel/normal tensions enhance fusion among membranes in the microwell. In-vitro peptide-membrane assay, mimicking vesicular transport via pressure-assisted fusion, and stability of 38 days with in-chip pressure control via pore size-regulated hydrogel highlight the potential for diverse biological applications. Membrane fusion is crucial for fabricating artificial membranes. Here, the authors present an approach combining electric field with hydraulic pressure to physically control the fusion, enabling tuning of the shape and size of the 3D freestanding lipid bilayers in physiological solutions.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-024-48875-0