Micropatterning of functional lipid bilayer assays for quantitative bioanalysis

Abstract

Interactions of the cell with its environment are mediated by the cell membrane and membrane-localized molecules. Supported lipid bilayers have enabled the recapitulation of the basic properties of cell membranes and have been broadly used to further our understanding of cellular behavior. Coupled with micropatterning techniques, lipid bilayer platforms have allowed for high throughput assays capable of performing quantitative analysis at a high spatiotemporal resolution. Here, an overview of the current methods of the lipid membrane patterning is presented. The fabrication and pattern characteristics are briefly described to present an idea of the quality and notable features of the methods, their utilizations for quantitative bioanalysis, as well as to highlight possible directions for the advanced micropatterning lipid membrane assays.