Formation of planar hybrid lipid/polymer membranes anchored to an S-layer protein lattice by vesicle binding and rupture

Exploitation of biomolecular and biomimetic components on solid surfaces gain increasing importance for the design of stable functional platforms. The present study performed by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) reports on the formation of planar hybrid lipid/polymer membranes anchored to a crystalline surface (S-) layer protein lattice. In this approach, hybrid lipid/polymer vesicles were chemically bound to the S-layer protein lattice. Subsequently, to form a hybrid planar layer rupture and fusion was triggered either by (1) β– diketone – europium ion complex formation or (2) successive application of calcium ions, lowering the pH from 9 to 4, and the detergent CHAPS. As determined by QCM-D, method 1 resulted for a polymer content of 5% in a planar membrane with some imbedded intact vesicles, whereas method 2 succeeded in planar hybrid membranes with a polymer content of even up to 70%. These results provide evidence for the effective formation of planar lipid/polymer membranes varying in their composition on an S-layer protein lattice.