UC Davis

Black lipid membranes (BLMs) are a form of planar lipid bilayer suited for electrophysiological protein characterization. BLMs are typically formed on micromachined Teflon or patterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In this work, a BLM framework was fabricated using 1-3 µm-thick silanized epoxy thin-films. Thin-films were patterned with 50-500 µm-diameter pores using soft lithography on a low-cost cannabis oil extraction press. BLM formation with POPC lipid was confirmed using epifluorescent and confocal microscopy. BLMs were successfully formed in features of many different sizes. These results show that epoxy is a viable option to support BLMs and suggest an opportunity for innovation in the field.