Analytical Sciences

Self-Assembly and Subsequent Accumulation of Lipid Nanotubes at Oil/Water Interfaces

Hiroharu YUI,*^,** Daisuke SAWADA,** Shoko KAMIYA,* Tsuguo SAWADA,** and Toshimi SHIMIZU*^,***

*CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Nanoarchitectonics Research Center (NARC), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 4, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8562, Japan
**Department of Advanced Materials Science, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5-603 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8561, Japan
***Nanoarchitectonics Research Center (NARC), National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 5, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8565, Japan

We utilized oil/water interfaces as a new field to produce lipid nanotubes (LNTs), which are formed by the self-assembly of lipid molecules, and possess hollow nanometer-wide cylindrical structures. Compared to the self-assembling field in bulk water, oil/water interfaces produced shorter lipids nanotubes less than 10 µm long more efficiently. In addition, we found that the oil/water interface accumulates lipid nanotubes spontaneously. This methodology is favorable to fabricate LNTs as new nano-fluidic devices, or sensors that require accumulation and alignment in two dimensions.

J-STAGE: View this article in J-STAGE