Graduation Year

2021

Date of Submission

1-2021

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Reader 1

Professor Ethan Van Arnam

Reader 2

Professor Babak Sanii

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Abstract

Natural biological membranes are critical to the proper function and protection of cells. Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs), or artificial membranes, can be practically fabricated in the laboratory environment to mimic biological membranes’ complex structure. Countless applications unfold when these imperative properties are mimicked in an artificial system. Currently, artificial membranes hold a variety of potential applications to existing systems of water filtration and biosensing. Previous research in the Sanii Research Laboratory relied upon key characteristics of phospholipid bilayers and simplified methods behind lipid deposition onto supported substrates. Lipid membranes’ properties, including selectivity and specificity, establish them as competitive mediums for water filtration systems. Their innate electrostatic interactions and control indicate their viability for usage as biosensors. The published literature on applications of SLBs in water filtration and biosensing systems may reveal how the inherent characteristics of artificial membrane systems could be manipulated to employ a unique lipid diagnostics system. A simplified lipid diagnostics system, utilizing electrochemical biosensing and applying Sanii Research Laboratory techniques, could be implemented in the fields of health and medicine to identify lipid content in a human body by measuring the rates at which different lipids spread.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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