Solvent-assisted deposition of supported lipid bilayers

Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) are essential in modeling cell membranes for neutron reflection (NR) studies, critical across various scientific fields of science. Traditional SLB formation methods, like vesicle fusion (VF), have limitations concerning the complexity of lipid mixtures and the types of solid supports used. To overcome these challenges, the solvent-assisted lipid bilayer (SALB) method has been introduced, utilizing water-miscible organic solvents like isopropanol or ethanol for lipid deposition on solid supports. This innovative approach allows for broader lipid composition, enhancing the analysis of membrane models.
In previous NR experiments, we found that 10.6 % of Isopropanol remains within the SLB tails. We aim to further optimize the SALB method for NR studies using Isopropanol and EtOH to reduce the amount of solvent retained in the SLB. Additionally, we seek to incubate SALBs with the antimicrobial peptide Melittin, which has previously been studied by NR with SLBs formed by VF, to assess differences in binding due to the SALBs' altered composition (alcohol containing SLB). This work is essential to confirm whether the SALB method can be used to investigate interactions between lipid membranes and proteins and will be supported by QCM-D experiments. Our findings will assess the SALB method's potential in biological research and pharmaceutical applications, potentially revolutionizing drug delivery systems through enhanced membrane model fidelity.