TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaporation-induced buckling and fission of microscale droplet interface bilayers
AU - Boreyko, Jonathan B.
AU - Mruetusatorn, Prachya
AU - Sarles, Stephen A.
AU - Retterer, Scott T.
AU - Collier, C. Patrick
PY - 2013/4/17
Y1 - 2013/4/17
N2 - Droplet interface bilayers (DIBs) are a robust platform for studying synthetic cellular membranes; however, to date no DIBs have been produced at cellular length scales. Here, we create microscale droplet interface bilayers (μDIBs) at the interface between aqueous femtoliter-volume droplets within an oil-filled microfluidic channel. The uniquely large area-to-volume ratio of the droplets results in strong evaporation effects, causing the system to transition through three distinct regimes. First, the two adjacent droplets shrink into the shape of a single spherical droplet, where an augmented lipid bilayer partitions two hemispherical volumes. In the second regime, the combined effects of the shrinking monolayers and growing bilayer force the confined bilayer to buckle to conserve its mass. Finally, at a critical bending moment, the buckling bilayer fissions a vesicle to regulate its shape and mass. The μDIBs produced here enable evaporation-induced bilayer dynamics reminiscent of endo-and exocytosis in cells.
AB - Droplet interface bilayers (DIBs) are a robust platform for studying synthetic cellular membranes; however, to date no DIBs have been produced at cellular length scales. Here, we create microscale droplet interface bilayers (μDIBs) at the interface between aqueous femtoliter-volume droplets within an oil-filled microfluidic channel. The uniquely large area-to-volume ratio of the droplets results in strong evaporation effects, causing the system to transition through three distinct regimes. First, the two adjacent droplets shrink into the shape of a single spherical droplet, where an augmented lipid bilayer partitions two hemispherical volumes. In the second regime, the combined effects of the shrinking monolayers and growing bilayer force the confined bilayer to buckle to conserve its mass. Finally, at a critical bending moment, the buckling bilayer fissions a vesicle to regulate its shape and mass. The μDIBs produced here enable evaporation-induced bilayer dynamics reminiscent of endo-and exocytosis in cells.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84876460839&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/ja4019435
DO - 10.1021/ja4019435
M3 - Article
C2 - 23550820
AN - SCOPUS:84876460839
SN - 0002-7863
VL - 135
SP - 5545
EP - 5548
JO - Journal of the American Chemical Society
JF - Journal of the American Chemical Society
IS - 15
ER -