Monolithically fabricated perforated polyimide separator for a planar lipid bilayer devi CE

We propose a batch fabrication of a perforated separator for formation of a planar lipid bilayer, aiming for commercial and mass production. A planar lipid-bilayer system increasingly attracts attention as a platform of nanopore-based biosensors, and a perforated separator is an essential component for reconstitution of a planar bilayer on such sensor devices. We therefore designed a mass-fabrication procedure of the separator, avoiding laborious processes. First, an array of microapertures was processed on a sheet of polyimide thin film (200 × 200 mm2) by chemical etching. Photo-reactive polyimide coverlays were then laminated and formed a frame of the apertures at both faces of the film as reinforcement. Approximately 300 pieces of monolithic separators were obtained by the procedure. Electrical properties (current noise level) of a planar bilayer were certified with the developed separator.