MICROPATTERNING FLUID LIPID BILAYERS ON SOLID SUPPORTS

Lithographically patterned grids of photoresist, aluminum oxide, or go ld on oxidized silicon substrates were used to partition supported lip id bilayers into micrometer-scale arrays of isolated fluid membrane co rrals. Fluorescently labeled lipids were observed to diffuse freely wi thin each membrane corral but were confined by the micropatterned barr iers. The concentrations of fluorescent probe molecules in individual corrals were altered by selective photobleaching to create arrays of f luid membrane patches with differing compositions. Application of an e lectric field parallel to the surface induced steady-state concentrati on gradients of charged membrane components in the corrals, In additio n to producing patches of membrane with continuously varying compositi on, these gradients provide an intrinsically parallel means of acquiri ng information about molecular properties such as the diffusion coeffi cient in individual corrals.