Building interconnected membrane networks.

Matthew A Holden

Methods in cell biology 2015

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Reconstituted replica cell membranes are easily created by contacting two lipid-monolayer-encased aqueous droplets under an oil phase. Called the droplet interface bilayer (DIB), this technique has been used to study a wide range of membrane processes. Importantly, this method is compatible with electrical measurements, meaning that membrane protein activities are easily observed in DIBs. By positioning droplets in two- and three-dimensional networks, sophisticated interconnected systems can be created that possess collective properties. The methods described here summarize the approaches used to create DIB networks and how to operate the devices that have been constructed so far. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.