High Throughput Lipid Bilayer Platform

Artificial lipid bilayers are well established for use in scientific studies of reconstituted ion channels and as a platform to host engineered pore proteins for sensing, including DNA sequencing. Droplet bilayers have recently been shown to be especially compatible with technological applications, with recently demonstrated automation, parallelization, and ion channel drug potency measurements. To expand the range of potential applications, we have been working to simplify droplet bilayer formation and ion channel measurement. We have developed a chip for droplet bilayer formation and measurement that only requires fluid dispensation. Using an array design of this chip, 32 bilayers were simultaneously formed with no operator feedback at a yield of approximately 80%. Cycling this process resulted in the formation and measurement of 96/120 bilayers in 80 minutes, a rate which could greatly increase with automation and greater parallelization. We also used these arrays to measure the α-hemolysin and VDAC channels.