Abstract
One practical approach towards robust and stable biomimetic platforms is to generate hybrid bilayers that incorporate both lipids and block co-polymer amphiphiles. The currently limited number of reports on the interaction of glass surfaces with hybrid lipid and polymer vesicles—DOPC mixed with amphiphilic poly(ethylene oxide-b-butadiene) (PEO-PBd)—describe substantially different conclusions under very similar conditions (i.e., same pH). In this study, we varied vesicle composition and solution pH in order to generate a broader picture of spontaneous hybrid lipid/polymer vesicle interactions with rigid supports. Using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), we followed the interaction of hybrid lipid-polymer vesicles with borosilicate glass as a function of pH. We found pH-dependent adsorption/fusion of hybrid vesicles that accounts for some of the contradictory results observed in previous studies. Our results show that the formation of hybrid lipid-polymer bilayers is highly pH dependent and indicate that the interaction between glass surfaces and hybrid DOPC/PEO-PBd can be tuned with pH.
Highlights
The formation of supported bilayers over rigid materials is an essential step towards producing a wide range of biomimetic surfaces and devices including membrane-based biosensors [1,2,3]
The interaction between lipid vesicles and glass substrates is highly dependent on pH due to the changes it induces on the surface charge of the substrate [11], resulting in outcomes that range from adsorbed vesicles to supported lipid bilayers (SLBs)
We varied vesicle composition and solution pH in order to generate a broader picture of spontaneous hybrid lipid/polymer vesicles—DOPC mixed with amphiphilic poly(ethylene oxide-b-butadiene) (PEO-PBd) vesicle interactions with glass supports
Summary
The formation of supported bilayers over rigid materials is an essential step towards producing a wide range of biomimetic surfaces and devices including membrane-based biosensors [1,2,3]. A critical aspect in the design of bilayer-based biosensors is the formation of robust and well defined lipid bilayers over rigid supports. In the years since first described by Tamm et al [10], the formation of lipid bilayers on siliceous surfaces is a thoroughly studied phenomenon and the literature presents a great number of insights into the process. The interaction between lipid vesicles and glass substrates is highly dependent on pH due to the changes it induces on the surface charge of the substrate [11], resulting in outcomes that range from adsorbed vesicles to supported lipid bilayers (SLBs). In addition to pH, other factors that affect vesicle-substrate interaction include temperature, cation valency, osmotic pressure, vesicle concentration and flow conditions [12,13,14,15]
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