Polydopamine-Supported Lipid Bilayers

• Main Authors: Souryvanh Nirasay, Antonella Badia, Grégoire Leclair, Jerome P. Claverie, Isabelle Marcotte
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2012-12-01
• Series: Materials
• Subjects: supported membrane; phospholipid bilayer; polymer cushion; polydopamine; lipid diffusion
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/5/12/2621

We report the formation of lipid membranes supported by a soft polymeric cushion of polydopamine. First, 20 nm thick polydopamine films were formed on mica substrates. Atomic force microscopy imaging indicated that these films were also soft with a surface roughness of 2 nm under hydrated conditions. A zwitterionic phospholipid bilayer was then deposited on the polydopamine cushion by fusion of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) vesicles. Polydopamine films preserved the lateral mobility of the phospholipids as shown by fluorescence microscopy recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) experiments. Diffusion coefficients of ~5.9 and 7.2 µm2 s−1 were respectively determined for DMPC and DOPC at room temperature, values which are characteristic of lipids in a free standing bilayer system.