Jinhong Zhang

Nanofibrous lipid membranes capable of functionally immobilizing antibodies and capturing specific cells.

Lipid bilayers that define the boundaries of cells and regulate intra/extracellular trafficking of ions and proteins have been a source of inspiration for the development of biomimetic materials. [1] For instance, liposomes have been extensively explored as carriers for drug delivery. [2] Furthermore, lipid membranes have been used as templates for the assembly of receptor signaling complexes [3] and the in vitro immunological study of cellular receptors. [4] Recently, electrospinning has been employed to engineer three-dimensional, high-surface-area lipid membranes composed of micrometer-diameter lecithin fibers. [5] Such lipid membranes may find important applications in biosensing and tissue engineering, but their poor durability adversely affect these potential applications. [6] Efforts to improve the material stability of phospholipid membranes, by polymerizing the lipids or incorporating additives, have been met with limited success. [6,7]

Atomic force microscopy of electrospun organic-inorganic lipid nanofibers

An organic-inorganic hybridization strategy has been proposed to synthesize polymerizable lipid-based materials for the creation of highly stable lipid-mimetic nanostructures. We employ atomic force microscopy (AFM) to analyze the surface morphology and mechanical property of electrospun cholesteryl-succinyl silane (CSS) nanofibers. The AFM nanoindentation of the CSS nanofibers reveals elastic moduli of 55.3 ± 27.6 to 70.8 ± 35 MPa, which is significantly higher than the moduli of natural phospholipids and cholesterols. The study shows that organic-inorganic hybridization is useful in the design of highly stable lipid-based materials.