Nikolaus Knorr

Publications (2)8.58 Total impact

• Source

  Available from: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

  Article: Membrane on a chip: a functional tethered lipid bilayer membrane on silicon oxide surfaces.

  Vladimir Atanasov, Nikolaus Knorr, Randolph S Duran, Sven Ingebrandt, Andreas Offenhäusser, Wolfgang Knoll, Ingo Köper
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  ABSTRACT: Tethered membranes have been proven during recent years to be a powerful and flexible biomimetic platform. We reported in a previous article on the design of a new architecture based on the self-assembly of a thiolipid on ultrasmooth gold substrates, which shows extremely good electrical sealing properties as well as functionality of a bilayer membrane. Here, we describe the synthesis of lipids for a more modular design and the adaptation of the linker part to silane chemistry. We were able to form a functional tethered bilayer lipid membrane with good electrical sealing properties covering a silicon oxide surface. We demonstrate the functional incorporation of the ion carrier valinomycin and of the ion channel gramicidin.
  Biophysical Journal 10/2005; 89(3):1780-8. · 3.65 Impact Factor
• Article: A molecular toolkit for highly insulating tethered bilayer lipid membranes on various substrates.

  Vladimir Atanasov, Petia P Atanasova, Inga K Vockenroth, Nikolaus Knorr, Ingo Köper
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  ABSTRACT: Tethered bilayer lipid membranes (tBLMs) are promising model architectures that mimic the structure and function of natural biomembranes. They provide a fluid, stable, and electrically sealing platform for the study of membrane related processes, specifically, the function of incorporated membrane proteins. This paper presents a generic approach toward the synthesis of functional tBLMs adapted for application to various surfaces. The central element of a tethered membrane consists of a lipid bilayer. Its proximal layer is covalently attached via a spacer unit to a solid support, either gold or silicon oxide. The membranes are characterized optically by using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPR) or ellipsometry and electrically by using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The bilayer membranes obtained show high electrical barrier properties and can be used to incorporate and study small membrane proteins in a functional form.
  Bioconjugate Chemistry 17(3):631-7. · 4.93 Impact Factor