The lipid bilayer membrane is crucial to the proper functioning of biological processes. It not only secludes a cell’s contents from the surrounding environment, but the membrane itself also serves as a dynamic scaffold for membrane proteins. The lipid membrane’s thickness is of nanoscale dimension, thus making it an ideal structure for nano and micro bioengineering applications. My research of biological membranes is two-fold. The first objective is to engineer a microfluidic structure that serves as learning tool for understanding the fundamental mechanical behavior of lipid bilayers. The second objective is to use the supported lipid membrane as a framework for studying both transmembrane proteins as well as nanophotonic properties of the functionalized bilayer.
Project end date: 08/11/09