Electrochemistry of Biomimetic Membranes - Applications of Electrochemistry and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine - page 173

Figure 10. (A) Formation of a lipid monolayer on a hydrophobic alkanethiol-coated
slab by Langmuir-Blodgett transfer; (B) Formation of a lipid bilayer on a hydro-
philic slab by Langmuir-Blodgett transfer and subsequent Langmuir-Schaefer trans-
fer.
the slab covered by the lipid bilayer is detached from the aqueous
subphase. The combination of the L-B and L-S transfers is used
principally for lipid bilayer deposition on hydrophilic surfaces of
glass, mica, quartz, polymeric materials, graphite and, to a minor
extent, on metals such as gold. 33
An advantage of L-B and L-S transfers over vesicle fusion is
that the strict composition of a mixed lipid monolayer on the
trough surface is maintained after its transfer. Conversely, the
composition of a mixed lipid layer on a substrate does not neces-
sarily correspond to that of the vesicles used to form it, and varies
strongly with the history of the sample preparation. On the other
hand, an advantage of vesicle fusion over L-B and L-S transfers is
that vesicles may easily incorporate membrane proteins, forming
proteoliposomes. To this end, membrane proteins are usually stabi-
lized in detergent micelles and then incorporated into the lipid ves-
icles upon removing the detergent molecules by dialysis. Fusion of
proteoliposomes on a metal-supported thiolipid monolayer may