Detection of supported lipid bilayers with carbon nanotube transistors

Supported lipid bilayers are important synthetic structures that can be used to mimic and study the properties and functions of cellular membranes, as well as to perform various bioassays which involve membrane bound receptors. The fusion of phospholipid vesicles and formation of a supported lipid bilayer can be detected in real time with high sensitivity by carbon nanotube field effect transistors which have been patterned on the same substrate. The properties of different vesicles, such as fusion rates and phospholipid composition can be distinguished by the conductance change of carbon nanotube field effect transistors. Fluorescence is used to verify the formation of a supported lipid bilayer, although the detection scheme is label-free. This demonstrates that electrical detection with carbon nanotubes can provide a powerful tool for study of lipid membranes.