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Updated: Mar 11, 2026

Assembly of Cell Mimicking Supported and Suspended Lipid Bilayer Models for the Study of Molecular Interactions
Published on: August 3, 2021
Impact of monoolein on aquaporin1-based supported lipid bilayer membranes
Zhining Wang1, Xida Wang1, Wande Ding1
1Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Aquaporin (AQP) based biomimetic membranes have attracted considerable attention for their potential water purification applications. In this paper, AQP1 incorporated biomimetic membranes were prepared and characterized. The morphology and structure of the biomimetic membranes were characterized by in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM), infrared absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and contact angle measurements. The nanofiltration performance of the AQP1 incorporated membranes was investigated at 4 bar by using 2 g l-1 NaCl as feed solution. Lipid mobility plays an important role in the performance of the AQP1 incorporated supported lipid bilayer (SLB) membranes. We demonstrated that the lipid mobility is successfully tuned by the addition of monoolein (MO). Through in situ AFM and fluorescence recovery after photo-bleaching (FRAP) measurements, the membrane morphology and the molecular mobility were studied. The lipid mobility increased in the sequence DPPC < DPPC/MO (RMO = 5/5) < DOPC/MO (RMO = 5/5) < DOPC, which is consistent with the flux increment and salt rejection. This study may provide some useful insights for improving the water purification performance of biomimetic membranes.
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