Data Associated with 'Controlling Transmembrane Protein Concentration in Supported Lipid Bilayers'

Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) are attractive model systems for studying lipid behaviour, membrane proteins and for the recapitulation of minimal membrane associated processes and structures. Their formation via vesicle adsorption, rupture and fusion, restricts the concentration of membrane proteins that can be incorporated whilst still permitting high quality bilayer formation. Therefore, there is significant interest in routes to increase the protein concentration post bilayer formation. Here we demonstrate that the trans-membrane protein proteorhodopsin (pR) can be incorporated into such bilayers and retain its diffusive mobility, D ~0.39 µm2s-1. In-plane electric fields can be used to move these proteins, within the SLB, through electrophoresis. Using a combination of electric fields and patterning of the SLB we have been able to manipulate the proteorhodopsin in a controlled manner to yield a > 25-fold increase in local concentration, to ~1300 proteins µm-2. The build-up of protein was monitored by fluorescence microscopy and atomic force microscopy.