Split-and-contact device to form planar lipid bilayers

This paper describes a method to form bilayer lipid membranes by splitting, sliding and contacting water droplets in oil containing lipid. A droplet surrounded by a lipid monolayer, which is easily formed by injecting an aqueous droplet into an organic solvent that contains lipids, is split and then, brought into contact each other. A bilayer lipid membrane is immediately formed at the interface of the split droplets. These processes are conducted on a micro device which we termed as split-and-contact device. The aqueous droplet with a lipid monolayer is split mechanically by either spinning or sliding motions of the device. We experimentally verified the effectiveness of the proposed split-and-contact device by using α-hemolysin and its blockers (single-stranded DNA and hepta-6-sulfato β-cyclodextrin). This device can be readily applicable to highly efficient biological sensor or drug discovery.