Lipid membrane posses the low density region such as free volume / void in the lipid membrane or crevice / pothole at the surface, that is called the dynamic nano sized–space. This space induced the binding of proteins or peptides, orientation of substrates, progression of the raction. It is introduced that the vesicle membrane can play a role for the reaction field concerning the immine condensation reaction, Horner–Wadsworth Emmons reaction, oxidation reaction, or polyaniline polymerization reaction.

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This article discusses the discoidal phospholipid membrane as resource material to prepare vesicles or planer membranes such as supported lipid bilayer (SLB) to be applied to membranous functional materials. The characteristics of the disk–shaped membrane, “arranging fat–soluble molecules”, and “concentrating them”, are important factors for developing a membrane functional material. In addition, the “morphological change of the discoidal membrane” upon its dilution step according to short–chained lipid (DHPC) concentration and the size of the assembly is, too. The methodology established in this study is expected to contribute to its application to the continuous preparation method of bicellar, vesicular or planar membranous materials that possess the heterogeneous texture at their surface.

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Biomolecules show excellent properties required for molecular recognition. These smart characteristics have been obtained through evolutional processes, and these biomolecules have been utilized in natural systems. Recently, their excellent capabilities have been used in materials science and engineering as well as life science. The bioinspired peptide screening technology using phage display methods has been developed based on the evolution to generate functional peptides. Here, we focused on peptides with a specific affinity for synthetic polymers. The polymer– binding peptides were obtained from a biologically constructed phage–displayed peptide library to recognize polymeric nanostructures, and were utilized for possible applications as novel biomolecular tools for functional polymers. Our approach to utilize peptides in materials science and engineering will open excellent opportunities for the next–generation of materials science and engineering.

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There has been increasing interest in powering and controlling the motion of small objects. In this review article, I describe delivery of fluids using particle–stabilized soft dispersed systems (liquid marbles and bubbles) on a planar water surface by external stimuli, followed by release of inner fluids. The position, area, timing, direction and velocity of delivery can be remotely controlled by light and air blow, and it is possible to release encapsulated fluids at a specific place and time by other external stimuli. Furthermore, the liquid marbles and bubbles are demonstrated to be able to work as towing engines to push objects on water surface. Remote transport of the small objects by external stimulus and on–demand control of the release of encapsulated active substances should open up a wide field of conceivable applications.

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In this paper, we report a simple, effective method for the visualization of a cell–attached nanointerface using localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) excited on a self–assembled metal nanoparticle sheet. The LSPR on the nanoparticle sheet provides high–contrast interfacial images due to the confined light at the nanointerface. The experiment of immobilized RBL–2H3 cells with fluorescence–labeled actin filaments revealed high axial resolution for the focal adhesion even under a regular epifluorescence microscope. This imaging technique can be applied even for live–cell imaging under a total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscope. This non–scanning–type, high–resolution imaging method will be an effective tool for monitoring interfacial phenomena including molecular level of rapid reaction or various cellular and molecular dynamics.

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As the base structure of cell membrane, lipid bilayer membrane has been attracting much attention as a platform to study biological properties of the cell membrane. However, the artificial cell membrane system normally suffered from low stability and low protein–incorporation efficiency. We tackled these problems by using a microfabricated silicon chip to support the free–standing lipid bilayer, and applying centrifugal force to facilitate the incorporation of proteins. By combining the lipid bilayer system with the cell–free synthesized ion channel, we proposed a new screening system which can be extended to various channel genotypes for future personalized medicine. Recently, the lipid bilayer membrane has been further explored as an interesting nanomaterial, due to its unique properties, such as ultrathin thickness, ultrahigh resistance and self–assembling ability. By combining the lipid bilayer with other functional nanomaterials, it is possible to form high–performance nanodevices without using nanofabrication processes. A photodetector device and a transistor–like device based on fullerene–derivative-doped lipid bilayer was introduced as examples to demonstrate the potential of such nano-devices based on biohybrid membranes. We believe that the lipid bilayer membrane can be used as a feasible and flexible platform for next-generation drug screening and novel nanodevices.

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In the membrane industrial field, from improving the quality of filtration for water treatment, separation technology of medical field, performance improvement of the electrode and separator of the battery, and dust filter, the pore size distribution is very important to maintain its quality. In recent years, research and development of gas separation membrane has been actively researched. For the analysis of ultra–micro pores of Angstrom order, Anton–Paar can offer a more accurate pore size distribution by new analysis technology NLDFT and QSDFT that simulates the behavior of fluid in the pores. The pore size analysis technology and our product line–up that are related to the membrane are introduced in this Journal.

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