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Dimitriou P, Li J, Jamieson WD, Schneider JJ, Castell OK, Barrow DA. Manipulation of encapsulated artificial phospholipid membranes using sub-micellar lysolipid concentrations. Commun Chem 2024; 7:120. [PMID: 38824266 PMCID: PMC11144220 DOI: 10.1038/s42004-024-01209-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Droplet Interface Bilayers (DIBs) constitute a commonly used model of artificial membranes for synthetic biology research applications. However, their practical use is often limited by their requirement to be surrounded by oil. Here we demonstrate in-situ bilayer manipulation of submillimeter, hydrogel-encapsulated droplet interface bilayers (eDIBs). Monolithic, Cyclic Olefin Copolymer/Nylon 3D-printed microfluidic devices facilitated the eDIB formation through high-order emulsification. By exposing the eDIB capsules to varying lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) concentrations, we investigated the interaction of lysolipids with three-dimensional DIB networks. Micellar LPC concentrations triggered the bursting of encapsulated droplet networks, while at lower concentrations the droplet network endured structural changes, precisely affecting the membrane dimensions. This chemically-mediated manipulation of enclosed, 3D-orchestrated membrane mimics, facilitates the exploration of readily accessible compartmentalized artificial cellular machinery. Collectively, the droplet-based construct can pose as a chemically responsive soft material for studying membrane mechanics, and drug delivery, by controlling the cargo release from artificial cell chassis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pantelitsa Dimitriou
- School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Queen's Buildings, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK.
| | - Jin Li
- School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Queen's Buildings, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK.
| | - William David Jamieson
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Redwood Building, Kind Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3NB, UK
| | - Johannes Josef Schneider
- Institute of Applied Mathematics and Physics, School of Engineering, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Technikumstr. 9, 8401, Winterthur, Switzerland
| | - Oliver Kieran Castell
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Redwood Building, Kind Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3NB, UK
| | - David Anthony Barrow
- School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Queen's Buildings, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK
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2
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Mashali F, Basham CM, Xu X, Servidio C, Silva PHJ, Stellacci F, Sarles SA. Simultaneous Electrophysiology and Imaging Reveal Changes in Lipid Membrane Thickness and Tension upon Uptake of Amphiphilic Gold Nanoparticles. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:15031-15045. [PMID: 37812767 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c01973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/11/2023]
Abstract
Amphiphilic gold core nanoparticles (AmNPs) striped with hydrophilic 11-mercapto-1-undecanesulfonate (MUS) and hydrophobic 1-octanethiol (OT) ligands are promising candidates for drug carriers that passively and nondisruptively enter cells. Yet, how they interact with cellular membranes is still only partially understood. Herein, we use electrophysiology and imaging to carefully assess changes in droplet interface bilayer lipid membranes (DIBs) incurred by striped AmNPs added via microinjection. We find that AmNPs spontaneously reduce the steady-state specific capacitance and contact angle of phosphatidylcholine DIBs by amounts dependent on the final NP concentration. These reductions, which are greater for NPs with a higher % OT ligands and membranes containing unsaturated lipids but negligible for MUS-only-coated NPs, reveal that AmNPs passively embed in the interior of the bilayer where they increase membrane thickness and lateral tension through disruption of lipid packing. These results demonstrate the enhanced evaluation of nano-bio interactions possible via electrophysiology and imaging of DIBs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farzin Mashali
- Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Colin M Basham
- Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Xufeng Xu
- Institute of Materials, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Camilla Servidio
- Institute of Materials, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Paulo H Jacob Silva
- Institute of Materials, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Francesco Stellacci
- Institute of Materials, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Stephen A Sarles
- Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
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3
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Biophysical quantification of unitary solute and solvent permeabilities to enable translation to membrane science. J Memb Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2022.121308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Abstract
Recent years have seen substantial efforts aimed at constructing artificial cells from various molecular components with the aim of mimicking the processes, behaviours and architectures found in biological systems. Artificial cell development ultimately aims to produce model constructs that progress our understanding of biology, as well as forming the basis for functional bio-inspired devices that can be used in fields such as therapeutic delivery, biosensing, cell therapy and bioremediation. Typically, artificial cells rely on a bilayer membrane chassis and have fluid aqueous interiors to mimic biological cells. However, a desire to more accurately replicate the gel-like properties of intracellular and extracellular biological environments has driven increasing efforts to build cell mimics based on hydrogels. This has enabled researchers to exploit some of the unique functional properties of hydrogels that have seen them deployed in fields such as tissue engineering, biomaterials and drug delivery. In this Review, we explore how hydrogels can be leveraged in the context of artificial cell development. We also discuss how hydrogels can potentially be incorporated within the next generation of artificial cells to engineer improved biological mimics and functional microsystems.
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Challenges and opportunities in achieving the full potential of droplet interface bilayers. Nat Chem 2022; 14:862-870. [PMID: 35879442 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-022-00989-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Model membranes can be used to elucidate the intricacies of the chemical processes that occur in cell membranes, but the perfectly biomimetic, yet bespoke, model membrane has yet to be built. Droplet interface bilayers are a new type of model membrane able to mimic some features of real cell membranes better than traditional models, such as liposomes and black lipid membranes. In this Perspective, we discuss recent work in the field that is starting to showcase the potential of these model membranes to enable the quantification of membrane processes, such as the behaviour of protein transporters and the prediction of in vivo drug movement, and their use as scaffolds for electrophysiological measurements. We also highlight the challenges that remain to enable droplet interface bilayers to achieve their full potential as artificial cells, and as biological analytical platforms to quantify molecular transport.
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6
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Roterman I, Stapor K, Fabian P, Konieczny L. Connexins and Pannexins—Similarities and Differences According to the FOD-M Model. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10071504. [PMID: 35884807 PMCID: PMC9313468 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10071504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Connexins and pannexins are the transmembrane proteins of highly distinguished biological activity in the form of transport of molecules and electrical signals. Their common role is to connect the external environment with the cytoplasm of the cell, while connexin is also able to link two cells together allowing the transport from one to another. The analysis presented here aims to identify the similarities and differences between connexin and pannexin. As a comparative criterion, the hydrophobicity distribution in the structure of the discussed proteins was used. The comparative analysis is carried out with the use of a mathematical model, the FOD-M model (fuzzy oil drop model in its Modified version) expressing the specificity of the membrane’s external field, which in the case of the discussed proteins is significantly different from the external field for globular proteins in the polar environment of water. The characteristics of the external force field influence the structure of protein allowing the activity in a different environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irena Roterman
- Department of Bioinformatics and Telemedicine, Jagiellonian University—Medical College, Medyczna 7, 30-688 Kraków, Poland
- Correspondence:
| | - Katarzyna Stapor
- Department of Applied Informatics, Faculty of Automatic, Electronics and Computer Science, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
| | - Piotr Fabian
- Department of Algorithmics and Software, Faculty of Automatic, Electronics and Computer Science, Silesian University of Technology, Akademicka 16, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland;
| | - Leszek Konieczny
- Chair of Medical Biochemistry—Jagiellonian University—Medical College, Kopernika 7, 31-034 Kraków, Poland;
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Strutt R, Sheffield F, Barlow NE, Flemming AJ, Harling JD, Law RV, Brooks NJ, Barter LMC, Ces O. UV-DIB: label-free permeability determination using droplet interface bilayers. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:972-985. [PMID: 35107110 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc01155c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Simple diffusion of molecular entities through a phospholipid bilayer, is a phenomenon of great importance to the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. Current model lipid systems to probe this typically only employ fluorescence as a readout, thus limiting the range of assessable chemical matter that can be studied. We report a new technology platform, the UV-DIB, which facilitates label free measurement of small molecule translocation rates. This is based upon the coupling of droplet interface bilayer technology with implemented fiber optics to facilitate analysis via ultraviolet spectroscopy, in custom designed PMMA wells. To improve on current DIB technology, the platform was designed to be reusable, with a high sampling rate and a limit of UV detection in the low μM regime. We demonstrate the use of our system to quantify passive diffusion in a reproducible and rapid manner where the system was validated by investigating multiple permeants of varying physicochemical properties across a range of lipid interfaces, each demonstrating differing kinetics. Our system permits the interrogation of structural dependence on the permeation rate of a given compound. We present this ability from two structural perspectives, that of the membrane, and the permeant. We observed a reduction in permeability between pure DOPC and DPhPC interfaces, concurring with literature and demonstrating our ability to study the effects of lipid composition on permeability. In relation to the effects of permeant structure, our device facilitated the rank ordering of various compounds from the xanthine class of compounds, where the structure of each permeant differed by a single group alteration. We found that DIBs were stable up to 5% DMSO, a molecule often used to aid solubilisation of pharmaceutical and agrochemical compounds. The ability of our device to rank-order compounds with such minor structural differences provides a level of precision that is rarely seen in current, industrially applied technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Strutt
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Felix Sheffield
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Nathan E Barlow
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Anthony J Flemming
- Syngenta, Jealott's Hill International Research Centre, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG42 6EY, UK
| | - John D Harling
- Medicinal Chemistry, GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage, SG1 2NY, UK
| | - Robert V Law
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Nicholas J Brooks
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Laura M C Barter
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Oscar Ces
- Department of Chemistry, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 0BZ, UK
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Allen ME, Albon J, Elani Y. Layer-by-layer assembly of multi-layered droplet interface bilayers (multi-DIBs). Chem Commun (Camb) 2021; 58:60-63. [PMID: 34877578 DOI: 10.1039/d1cc05155e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Droplet interface bilayers (DIBs) have tremendous promise as platforms for fundamental biomembrane studies and in biotechnology. Being composed of a single bilayer however limits their biomimetic potential, as many cell membrane motifs are composed of multiple aligned bilayers. We describe a technology to manufacture cell-sized multi-layered DIBs (multi-DIBs) by coating giant unilamellar vesicles with a further monolayer, and allowing such structures to make contact with themselves or a monolayer coated droplet. This easily customisable strategy will pave the way for an expanded repertoire of DIB functionality, for example by facilitating the incorporation of multiple-bilayer spanning protein complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E Allen
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub White City, London, W12 0BZ, UK.,Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK. .,Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - James Albon
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub White City, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - Yuval Elani
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Imperial College London, 82 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK. .,Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
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9
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Cheema JA, Carraher C, Plank NOV, Travas-Sejdic J, Kralicek A. Insect odorant receptor-based biosensors: Current status and prospects. Biotechnol Adv 2021; 53:107840. [PMID: 34606949 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2021.107840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Revised: 09/02/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Whilst the senses of vision and hearing have been successfully automated and miniaturized in portable formats (e.g. smart phone), this is yet to be achieved with the sense of smell. This is because the sensing challenge is not trivial as it involves navigating a chemosensory space comprising thousands of volatile organic compounds. Distinct aroma recognition is based on detecting unique combinations of volatile organic compounds. In natural olfactory systems this is accomplished by employing odorant receptors (ORs) with varying specificities, together with combinatorial neural coding mechanisms. Attempts to mimic the remarkable sensitivity and accuracy of natural olfactory systems has therefore been challenging. Current portable chemical sensors for odorant detection are neither sensitive nor selective, prompting research exploring artificial olfactory devices that use natural OR proteins for sensing. Much research activity to develop OR based biosensors has concentrated on mammalian ORs, however, insect ORs have not been explored as extensively. Insects possess an extraordinary sense of smell due to a repertoire of odorant receptors evolved to interpret olfactory cues vital to the insects' survival. The potential of insect ORs as sensing elements is only now being unlocked through recent research efforts to understand their structure, ligand binding mechanisms and development of odorant biosensors. Like their mammalian counterparts, there are many challenges with working with insect ORs. These include expression, purification and presentation of the insect OR in a stable display format compatible with an effective transduction methodology while maintaining OR structure and function. Despite these challenges, significant progress has been demonstrated in developing OR-based biosensors which exploit insect ORs in cells, lipid bilayers, liposomes and nanodisc formats. Ultrasensitive and highly selective detection of volatile organic compounds has been validated by coupling these insect OR display formats with transduction methodologies spanning optical (fluorescence) and electrical (field effect transistors, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) techniques. This review summarizes the current status of insect OR based biosensors and their future outlook.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamal Ahmed Cheema
- Polymer Biointerface Centre, School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand; MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wellington 6140, New Zealand; The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Colm Carraher
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - Natalie O V Plank
- MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wellington 6140, New Zealand; School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Jadranka Travas-Sejdic
- Polymer Biointerface Centre, School of Chemical Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand; MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
| | - Andrew Kralicek
- The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, Private Bag 92169, Auckland 1142, New Zealand; Scentian Bio Limited, 1c Goring Road, Sandringham, Auckland 1025, New Zealand.
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10
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Liu P, Zabala-Ferrera O, Beltramo PJ. Fabrication and electromechanical characterization of freestanding asymmetric membranes. Biophys J 2021; 120:1755-1764. [PMID: 33675759 PMCID: PMC8204216 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.02.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 01/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
All biological cell membranes maintain an electric transmembrane potential of around 100 mV, due in part to an asymmetric distribution of charged phospholipids across the membrane. This asymmetry is crucial to cell health and physiological processes such as intracell signaling, receptor-mediated endocytosis, and membrane protein function. Experimental artificial membrane systems incorporate essential cell membrane structures, such as the phospholipid bilayer, in a controllable manner in which specific properties and processes can be isolated and examined. Here, we describe an approach to fabricate and characterize planar, freestanding, asymmetric membranes and use it to examine the effect of headgroup charge on membrane stiffness. The approach relies on a thin film balance used to form a freestanding membrane by adsorbing aqueous phase lipid vesicles to an oil-water interface and subsequently thinning the oil to form a bilayer. We validate this lipid-in-aqueous approach by analyzing the thickness and compressibility of symmetric membranes with varying zwitterionic 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DOPC) and anionic 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1'-rac-glycerol) sodium salt (DOPG) content as compared with previous lipid-in-oil methods. We find that as the concentration of DOPG increases, membranes become thicker and stiffer. Asymmetric membranes are fabricated by controlling the lipid vesicle composition in the aqueous reservoirs on either side of the oil. Membrane compositional asymmetry is qualitatively demonstrated using a fluorescence quenching assay and quantitatively characterized through voltage-dependent capacitance measurements. Stable asymmetric membranes with DOPC on one side and DOPC-DOPG mixtures on the other were created with transmembrane potentials ranging from 15 to 80 mV. Introducing membrane charge asymmetry decreases both the thickness and stiffness in comparison with symmetric membranes with the same overall phospholipid composition. These initial successes demonstrate a viable pathway to quantitatively characterize asymmetric bilayers that can be extended to accommodate more complex membranes and membrane processes in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paige Liu
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts
| | - Oscar Zabala-Ferrera
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts
| | - Peter J Beltramo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts.
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Strutt R, Hindley JW, Gregg J, Booth PJ, Harling JD, Law RV, Friddin MS, Ces O. Activating mechanosensitive channels embedded in droplet interface bilayers using membrane asymmetry. Chem Sci 2021; 12:2138-2145. [PMID: 34163978 PMCID: PMC8179348 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc03889j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Droplet microcompartments linked by lipid bilayers show great promise in the construction of synthetic minimal tissues. Central to controlling the flow of information in these systems are membrane proteins, which can gate in response to specific stimuli in order to control the molecular flux between membrane separated compartments. This has been demonstrated with droplet interface bilayers (DIBs) using several different membrane proteins combined with electrical, mechanical, and/or chemical activators. Here we report the activation of the bacterial mechanosensitive channel of large conductance (MscL) in a dioleoylphosphatidylcholine:dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol DIB by controlling membrane asymmetry. We show using electrical measurements that the incorporation of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) into one of the bilayer leaflets triggers MscL gating in a concentration-dependent manner, with partial and full activation observed at 10 and 15 mol% LPC respectively. Our findings could inspire the design of new minimal tissues where flux pathways are dynamically defined by lipid composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Strutt
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
| | - James W Hindley
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
- FabriCELL, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
| | - Jordan Gregg
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
| | - Paula J Booth
- FabriCELL, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
- Department of Chemistry, King's College London SE1 1DB London UK
| | - John D Harling
- Medicinal Chemistry, GSK Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage SG1 2NY UK
| | - Robert V Law
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
- FabriCELL, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
| | - Mark S Friddin
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
- Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London Imperial College Road SW7 2AZ UK
| | - Oscar Ces
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
- Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
- FabriCELL, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub Shepherd's Bush London W12 0BZ UK
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12
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Findlay HE, Harris NJ, Booth PJ. Integrating Membrane Transporter Proteins into Droplet Interface Bilayers. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2315:31-41. [PMID: 34302668 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1468-6_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Droplet interface bilayers (DIBs) are an emerging tool within synthetic biology that aims to recreate biological processes in artificial cells. A critical component for the utility of these bilayers is controlled flow between compartments and, notably, uphill transport against a substrate concentration gradient. A versatile method to achieve the desired flow is to exploit the specificity of membrane proteins that regulate the movement of ions and transport of specific metabolic compounds. Methods have been in existence for some time to synthesize proteins within a droplet as well as incorporate membrane proteins into DIBS; however, there have been few reports combining synthesis and DIB incorporation for membrane transporters that demonstrate specific, uphill transport. This chapter presents two methods for the incorporation of a membrane transporter into a simple two-droplet DIB system, with the downhill and uphill transport reaction readily monitored by fluorescence microscopy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Paula J Booth
- Department of Chemistry, Kings College London, London, UK.
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