Supported bilayer lipid membranes as ion and molecular probes

In this paper we review the use of supported BLMs (bilayer lipid membranes) as sensors for the detection of ions and molecular species in aqueous media. The inspiration for this exciting research, without question, comes from the biological world, where, for example, the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane is the most important self-assembling system. Although the first report on self-assembled bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs) in vitro was published in 1962, interface science including surface and colloid science has been dealing with these interfacial self-assemblies of amphiphilic molecules since Robert Hooke's time (1672). Here, we present results of extensive study of physico chemical properties of two new membrane systems: metal and hydrogel supported bilayer lipid membranes (BLMs for short, also known as planar lipid bilayers). Several methods have been used to investigate the properties of these metal supported s-BLMs and hydrogel supported salt-bridge sb-BLMs, including cyclic voltammetry. Examples of a number of potential applications of s-BLMs for the construction of a glucose sensor for biomedical use as well as applications of agar supported BLMs for determining several toxins will be presented.