Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026

Automated Lipid Bilayer Membrane Formation Using a Polydimethylsiloxane Thin Film
Published on: July 10, 2016
Autonomic self-healing lipid monolayer: a new class of ultrathin dielectric
Carine Dumas1, Racha El Zein, Hervé Dallaporta
1Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanoscience de Marseille, CINaM, UPR CNRS 3118, Aix-Marseille Université, Campus de Luminy, Case 913, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France.
Abstract:
The electrical performance of stabilized lipid monolayers on H-terminated silicon is reported for the first time. We show that these 2.7 nm thick only ultrathin layers present extremely low current leakage at high electric field and high breakdown voltage that both compare favorably with the best data reported on organic thin film dielectrics. We demonstrate a very unique property of autonomic self-healing of the layer at room temperature with the total recovery of its performance after electrical breakdown. The mechanisms involved in breakdown and self-healing are described.
Related Concept Videos
Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
The Electrical Double Layer
The Fluid Mosaic Model
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...

