Supported Functional Lipid Membranes Based on Cell Surface Layer (S-Layer) Proteins

Bernhard Schuster, Petra C. Gufler, Dietmar Pum, Uwe B. Sleytr

Center for Ultrastructure Research, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Molecular Nanotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences, Gregor-Mendel-Str. 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria

e-mail: bschuste@edv1.boku.ac.at

URL: http://www.boku.ac.at/zuf/nano0.htm


Supported lipid membranes gain increasing attention particularly as lipid model membranes and as key components for new sensor technologies. The implementation of bacterial cell surface layer (S-layer) constitutes a promising alternative to soft polymer cushions, tether molecules and self-assembled monolayers. S-layer proteins are the simplest self-assembly systems that produce crystalline, water-containing, isoporous lattices with well-defined topographical and physico-chemical properties. As it will be demonstrated in the presentation, S-layer proteins stabilize lipid membranes and act in addition as nanometer-thick intermediate layer between the inorganic support and the lipid membrane providing an ionic reservoir space and natural environment for incorporated membrane proteins. Reconstituted in the biomimetic structures, membrane-active peptides and transmembrane proteins, including responsive ion channels, may be utilized as rapid and sensitive nanobionic biosensors. Potential applications range from DNA-sequencing and pharmaceutical high throughput screening, to the lab-on-a-chip technology.