Micropatterned composite membranes of polymerized and fluid lipid bilayers

Micropatterned composite membranes of polymerized and fluid lipid bilayers were constructed on solid substrates. Lithographic photopolymerization of a diacetylene-containing phospholipid, 1,2-bis(10,12-tricosadiynoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DiynePC), and subsequent removal of nonreacted monomers by a detergent solution (0.1 M sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)) yielded a patterned polymeric bilayer matrix on the substrate. Fluid lipid bilayers of phosphatidylcholine from egg yolk (egg-PC) were incorporated into the lipid-free wells surrounded by the polymeric bilayers through the process of fusion and reorganization of suspended small unilamellar vesicles. Spatial distribution of the fluid bilayers in the patterned bilayer depended on the degree of photopolymerization that in turn could be modulated by varying the applied UV irradiation dose. The polymeric bilayer domains blocked lateral diffusion of the fluid lipid bilayers and confined them in the defined areas (corrals), if the polymerization was conducted with a sufficiently large UV dose. On the other hand, lipid molecules of the fluid bilayers penetrated into the polymeric bilayer domains, if the UV dose was relatively small. A direct correlation was observed between the applied UV dose and the lateral diffusion coefficient of fluorescent marker molecules in the fluid bilayers embedded within the polymeric bilayer domains. Artificial control of lateral diffusion by polymeric bilayers may lead to the creation of complex and versatile biomimetic model membrane arrays.