Carbon nanotube supported single phospholipid bilayer

Single bilayer membranes of 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC) were formed on micron thin-films of hydrophilized carbon nanotubes (CNT) by fusion of small unilamellar vesicles. The structure of the membrane was investigated using neutron reflectivity (NR). The underlying thin film of CNT was formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) in the presence of Fe catalyst, followed by reaction with 5 M nitric acid to render the film hydrophilic. We demonstrate that this platform lends support to homogeneous and continuous bilayer membranes that have promising applications in the fields of biomaterials, biosensors, and biophysics.