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Automated Lipid Bilayer Membrane Formation Using a Polydimethylsiloxane Thin Film
Published on: July 10, 2016
Lysenin forms a voltage-dependent channel in artificial lipid bilayer membranes
Toru Ide1, Takaaki Aoki, Yuko Takeuchi
1Soft Biosystem Group, Laboratories for Nanobiology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. ide@phys1.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Lysenin, a hemolytic protein derived from the body fluid of earthworm, was incorporated into artificial bilayer membranes. Upon insertion, it formed a voltage-dependent large conductance channel in asolectin bilayers in a sphingomyelin-dependent manner. The channel had low ion-selectivity. Single-channel conductance was calculated as approximately 550 pS in 100 mM KCl. The channel in asolectin bilayers closed when the membrane was held at a positive potential. In contrast, the channel showed no voltage dependency in membranes made of pure phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin, suggesting some lipid contents included in the asolectin membranes affected channel gating.
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