An Automated Microfluidic System for the Generation of Droplet Interface Bilayer Networks
1
Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
2
Department of Biophysics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Andrew J. deMello and Xavier Casadevall i Solvas
Micromachines 2017, 8(3), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8030093
Received: 27 January 2017 / Revised: 11 March 2017 / Accepted: 15 March 2017 / Published: 21 March 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Droplet Microfluidics: Techniques and Technologies, Volume II)
Networks of droplets, in which aqueous compartments are separated by lipid bilayers, have shown great potential as a model for biological transmembrane communication. We present a microfluidic system which allows for on-demand generation of droplets that are hydrodynamically locked in a trapping structure. As a result, the system enables the formation of a network of four droplets connected via lipid bilayers and the positions of each droplet in the network can be controlled thanks to automation of microfluidic operations. We perform electrophysiological measurements of ionic currents indicating interactions between nanopores and small molecules to prove the potential of the device in screening of the inhibitors acting on membrane proteins. We also demonstrate, for the first time, a microfluidic droplet interface bilayer (DIB) system in which the testing of inhibitors can be performed without direct contact between the tested sample and the electrodes recording picoampere currents.
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Keywords:
microfluidics; microdroplets; droplet interface bilayers (DIBs); droplet networks; electrophysiology; model lipid membrane
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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
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MDPI and ACS Style
Czekalska, M.A.; Kaminski, T.S.; Horka, M.; Jakiela, S.; Garstecki, P. An Automated Microfluidic System for the Generation of Droplet Interface Bilayer Networks. Micromachines 2017, 8, 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8030093
AMA Style
Czekalska MA, Kaminski TS, Horka M, Jakiela S, Garstecki P. An Automated Microfluidic System for the Generation of Droplet Interface Bilayer Networks. Micromachines. 2017; 8(3):93. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8030093
Chicago/Turabian StyleCzekalska, Magdalena A.; Kaminski, Tomasz S.; Horka, Michal; Jakiela, Slawomir; Garstecki, Piotr. 2017. "An Automated Microfluidic System for the Generation of Droplet Interface Bilayer Networks" Micromachines 8, no. 3: 93. https://doi.org/10.3390/mi8030093
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