Electronic polymers in lipid membranes
Journal article, 2015
Electrical interfaces between biological cells and man-made electrical devices exist in many forms, but it remains a challenge to bridge the different mechanical and chemical environments of electronic conductors (metals, semiconductors) and biosystems. Here we demonstrate soft electrical interfaces, by integrating the metallic polymer PEDOT-S into lipid membranes. By preparing complexes between alkyl-ammonium salts and PEDOT-S we were able to integrate PEDOT-S into both liposomes and in lipid bilayers on solid surfaces. This is a step towards efficient electronic conduction within lipid membranes. We also demonstrate that the PEDOT-S@alkyl-ammonium:lipid hybrid structures created in this work affect ion channels in the membrane of Xenopus oocytes, which shows the possibility to access and control cell membrane structures with conductive polyelectrolytes.
Author
P.K. Johansson
University of Washington, Seattle
Linkopings universitet
David Bergenholm
Chalmers, Biology and Biological Engineering, Systems and Synthetic Biology
A. Elfwing
Linkopings universitet
S.I. Liin
Linkopings universitet
C. Musumeci
Linkopings universitet
E. Zeglio
Linkopings universitet
F. Elinder
University of Washington, Seattle
N. Solin
Linkopings universitet
Olle Inganaes
Linkopings universitet
Scientific Reports
2045-2322 (ISSN)
Vol. 5Subject Categories (SSIF 2011)
Biophysics
DOI
10.1038/srep11242