Journal article

Novel engineered ion channel provides controllable ion permeability for polyelectrolyte microcapsules coated with a lipid membrane

AR Battle, SM Valenzuela, A Mechler, RJ Nichols, S Praporski, IL Di Maio, H Islam, AP Girard-Egrot, BA Cornell, J Prashar, F Caruso, LL Martin, DK Martin

Advanced Functional Materials | WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH | Published : 2009

Abstract

The development of nanostructured microcapsules based on a biomimetic lipid bilayer membrane (BLM) coating of poIy(sodium styrenesutfbnate) (PSS)/poIy(alIylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) polyelectrolyte hollow microcapsules is reported. A novel engineered ion channel, gramicidin (bisgA), incorporated into the lipid membrane coating provides a functional capability to control transport across the microcapsule wall. The microcapsules provide transport and permeation for drug-analog neutral species, as well as positively and negatively charged ionic species. This controlled transport can be tuned for selective release biomimetically by controlling the gating of incorporated bis-gA ion channels. Thi..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council


Awarded by ARC Federation Fellowship


Awarded by International Science Linkages program


Funding Acknowledgements

The authors thank the following organizations for financial support of this research: the Australian Research Council (grant LP0560749 to D. K. M., S. M. V., and B. A. C.; grants DP0663290 and DP0662816 to L. L. M. and A. M.; grant DP0343840 to F. C.), the ARC Federation Fellowship scheme (grant FF0241218 to F. C.), and the International Science Linkages program under the Australian government's innovation statement Backing Australia's Ability (grant CG060027 to D. K. M.). Dr.'s I. L. di M., H. I., and A. R. B. were supported by OzNano2Life postdoctoral fellowships. Dr. A. Mechler was supported by Monash fellowships. Prof. Caruso was also supported by the Victorian State Government under the STI Initiative.