Self-assembly formation of multiple DNA-tethered lipid bilayers

J Struct Biol. 2009 Oct;168(1):200-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jsb.2009.07.008. Epub 2009 Jul 14.

Abstract

Inspired by natural cell-cell junctions, where membrane-residing proteins control the separation between two or more membranes without interfering with their integrity, we report a new self-assembly route for formation of multiple highly fluid tethered lipid bilayers with the inter-membrane volume geometrically confined by membrane-anchored DNA duplexes. The formation of multiple planar membrane-membrane junctions were accomplished using disk shaped bicelles, composed of a mixture of the long-chained dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and the short-chained dihexanoyl PC further stabilized with the positively charged detergent hexadecyl-trimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB). Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) monitoring and fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) were used to monitor the formation and to characterize the integrity of the self-assembled lipid-DNA architecture.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • DNA / chemistry*
  • Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine / chemistry
  • Lipid Bilayers / chemistry*
  • Models, Theoretical

Substances

  • Lipid Bilayers
  • DNA
  • Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine