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Updated: Feb 19, 2026

Author Spotlight: Photo Switchable Protein Recruitment for Reversible Patterning in Artificial Cellular Systems
Published on: February 23, 2024
Dynamic and reversible control of 2D membrane protein concentration in a droplet interface bilayer
Linda C M Gross1, Oliver K Castell, Mark I Wallace
1Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, OX1 3TA, Oxford, U.K.
Abstract:
We form an artificial lipid bilayer between a nanolitre aqueous droplet and a supporting hydrogel immersed in an oil/lipid solution. Manipulation of the axial position of the droplet relative to the hydrogel controls the size of the bilayer formed at the interface; this enables the surface density of integral membrane proteins to be controlled. We are able to modulate the surface density of the β-barrel pore-forming toxin α-hemolysin over a range of 4 orders of magnitude within a time frame of a few seconds. The concentration changes are fully reversible. Membrane protein function and diffusion are unaltered, as measured by single molecule microscopy and single channel electrical recording.
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