A Study of the Effects of Plasma Surface Treatment on Lipid Bilayers Self-Spreading on a Polydimethylsiloxane Substrate under Different Treatment Times

Abstract

Plasma-treated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-supported lipid bilayers are used as functional tools for studying cell membrane properties and as platforms for biotechnology applications. Self-spreading is a versatile method for forming lipid bilayers. However, few studies have focused on the effect of plasma treatment on self-spreading lipid bilayer formation. In this paper, we performed lipid bilayer self-spreading on a PDMS surface with different treatment times. Surface characterization of PDMS treated with different treatment times is evaluated by AFM and SEM, and the effects of plasma treatment of the PDMS surface on lipid bilayer self-spreading behavior is investigated by confocal microscopy. The front-edge velocity of lipid bilayers increases with the plasma treatment time. By theoretical analyses with the extended-DLVO modeling, we find that the most likely cause of the velocity change is the hydration repulsion energy between the PDMS surface and lipid bilayers. Moreover, the growth behavior of membrane lobes on the underlying self-spreading lipid bilayer was affected by topography changes in the PDMS surface resulting from plasma treatment. Our findings suggest that the growth of self-spreading lipid bilayers can be controlled by changing the plasma treatment time.

Comparative Study of Lipid- and Polymer-Supported Membranes Obtained by Vesicle Fusion

“…Hence, even though we are not directly measuring the diffusion of polymers, the FRAP results give us a good estimate of the fluidity of polymer membranes and can be used for comparative studies. The diffusion coefficient, D , we obtain for lipid bilayers on glass and PDMS substrates is in close agreement with previous measurements in the literature (Figure A). , …”

“…The diffusion coefficient, D, we obtain for lipid bilayers on glass and PDMS substrates is in close agreement with previous measurements in the literature (Figure 2A). 45,46 In comparison, the diffusion coefficient of Rh-DPPE in supported PEO14-PBD22 membranes was 7−8 times smaller. Unsupported polymer membranes, as measured in PGUVs, showed a higher D but still lower than in supported lipid bilayers (Figure 2A), suggesting that interactions with the substrate account for only 2−4 times reduction in mobility.…”

“…The diffusion coefficient, D , we obtain for lipid bilayers on glass and PDMS substrates is in close agreement with previous measurements in the literature ( Figure 2 A). 45 , 46 …”

From Chips-in-Lab to Point-of-Care Live Cell Device: Development of a Microfluidic Device for On-Site Cell Culture and High-Throughput Drug Screening

“…Another possibility is that PDMS material is characterized by a surface roughness of ∼3.6 nm and cavities of comparable size, leading to the formation of a PDMS–air interface inside the nanofluidic channels . We suspect that when these nanosized cavities are filled with air (e.g., water vapor), they act as air bubbles, which are known to cause damage to the cell membrane (Figure b and Supporting Information Section 1.3).…”

Structure and Mechanics of Membrane-bound Vimentin Filaments and Networks under Strain

“…It was also reported in several previous studies. [170][171][172] MAYER et al reported in their study that a modification of the PDMS surface using plasma exposure usually creates cracks as a side-effect, thus proposing another method toward crack-free PDMS. [171] By contrast, in this work, it was found that crack formation can be simply regulated by variation of the plasma exposure.…”