The lipid bilayer concept and its experimental realization: from soap bubbles, kitchen sink, to bilayer lipid membranes

The inspiration for lipid bilayer research, without question, comes from th e biological world. Although self-assembled bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) in vitro, were first reported in 1961, experimental scientists have been de aling with BLM-type interfacial adsorption phenomena since Robert Hooke's t ime (1672). BLMs (of planar lipid bilayers) have been used in a number of a pplications ranging from basic membrane biophysics including transport. pra ctical AIDS research, and 'microchips' studies, to the conversion of solar energy via water photolysis, to biosensor development using supported bilay er lipid membranes (s-BLMs), and to photobiology comprising apoptosis and p hotodynamic therapy. This paper presents an overview of the origin of the l ipid bilayer concept and its experimental realization, as well as the studi es of our laboratory and recent research of others on the use of BLMs as mo dels of certain biomembranes. In addition, we describe briefly our present work on supported BLMs as biosensors and molecular devices; the experiments carried out in close collaboration with colleagues on s-BLMs are delineate d. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.