Creating addressable aqueous microcompartments above solid supported phospholipid bilayers using lithographically patterned poly(dimethylsiloxane) molds

Herein we report the use of microcontact displacement (microCD) to generate addressable arrays of aqueous solutions above fluid lipid bilayers by bringing a patterned PDMS mold into conformal contact with a phospholipid membrane on a solid supported substrate. Epifluorescence microscopy established that the bilayer material was displaced in regions where contact between the mold and substrate was made. Photobleaching experiments confirmed that the bilayer sectors remained individually fluid but completely separated. The microcompartments created by microCD could be individually injected with aqueous solutions that remained sealed from their neighbors. This procedure was then exploited for screening a small library of aqueous-phase molecules for their ability to inhibit binding between surface-bound ligands and soluble protein receptors.