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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Automated Lipid Bilayer Membrane Formation Using a Polydimethylsiloxane Thin Film
Published on: July 10, 2016
Stability of lipid films formed on gamma-aminopropyl monolayers
Todd W McBee1, S Scott Saavedra
1Department of Chemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA.
Abstract:
The stability of supported lipid membranes (SLMs) deposited on planar substrates derivatized with (gamma-aminopropyl)silane (GAPS) was examined. Ellipsometry, fluorescence microscopy, and atomic force microscopy were used to characterize SLMs exposed to repeated drying and rehydration. Vesicle fusion on GAPS-coated substrates produced SLMs with a thickness significantly greater than that of a single lipid bilayer. Exposure to even one cycle of drying/rehydration significantly decreased the thickness of a SLM on GAPS, and repeated drying/rehydration resulted in near quantitative lipid desorption. Thus SLMs on GAPS do not appear to be significantly more stable than the single bilayer SLM that is formed on bare glass or SiO2 under equivalent conditions.
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