Micro‐ and Nano‐Technologies for Lipid Bilayer‐Based Ion‐Channel Functional Assays |
| |
| Authors: | Dr Ayumi Hirano‐Iwata Yutaka Ishinari Dr Hideaki Yamamoto Prof Michio Niwano |
| |
| Institution: | 1. CREST (Japan) Science and Technology Agency (JST), Kawaguchi, Saitama, Japan;2. Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Japan;3. Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Japan;4. Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics, Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Japan |
| |
| Abstract: | Ion channel proteins provide gated pores that allow ions to passively flow across cell membranes. Owing to their crucial roles in regulating transmembrane ion flow, ion channel proteins have attracted the attention of pharmaceutical investigators as drug targets for use in the studies of both therapeutics and side effects. In this review, we discuss the current technologies that are used in the formation of ion channel‐integrated bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) in microfabricated devices as a potential platform for next‐generation drug screening systems. Advances in BLM fabrication methodology have allowed the preparation of BLMs in sophisticated formats, such as microfluidic, automated, and/or array systems, which can be combined with channel current recordings. A much more critical step is the integration of the target channels into BLMs. Current technologies for the functional reconstitution of ion channel proteins are presented and discussed. Finally, the remaining issues of the BLM‐based methods for recording ion channel activities and their potential applications as drug screening systems are discussed. |
| |
| Keywords: | bilayer lipid membrane channel current channel integration ion channel microfabricaiton |
|
|
