A new approach to detect and study ion channel formation in microBLMs

作者：Smeazzetto Serena; De Zotti Marta; Moncelli Maria Rosa^*

来源：Electrochemistry Communications, 2011, 13(8): 834-836.

DOI：10.1016/j.elecom.2011.05.015

• Bilayer lipid membranes
• Ion channel
• Conductivity measurements
• Phospholamban
• Trichogin GA IV
• MicroBLMs

In this paper, an innovative and versatile approach to detect pore formation in microBLMs and to investigate their ion selectivity is described. For the first time, both electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and conductivity measurements are performed on the same membrane, providing a simple, long-lasting and cheap method which can find applications in various ion channel-involving research fields. We make use of this improved experimental procedure to obtain for the first time a range of values to characterize homogeneous polycarbonate-supported microBLMs. To test the validity of our method, the well-known. channel-forming peptide gramicidin D was first employed. Then, we applied our approach to the study of the still unclear membrane interaction mechanisms of the peptides trichogin GA IV and phospholamban, finding that both can form ion channels in biomimetic models. The phospholamban-generated ion channels could be a promising therapeutic target in heart failures and other cardiac diseases. Our methodology might also be useful for detecting new drugs with ion-channel blocking action.

• 出版日期2011-8