Integrated Electrodes on a Silicon Based Ion Channel Measurement Platform

We demonstrate the microfabrication of a low-noise silicon based device with integrated silver/silver chloride electrodes used for the measurement of single ion channel proteins. An aperture of 150 microm diameter was etched in a silicon substrate using a deep silicon reactive ion etcher and passivated with 30 nm of polytetrafluoroethylene via chemical vapor deposition. The average recorded noise in measurements of lipid bilayers was reduced by a factor of four through patterning of a 75 microm thick SU-8 layer around the aperture. Integrated electrodes were fabricated on both sides of the device and used for repeatable, stable, giga-seal bilayer formations as well as characteristic measurements of the transmembrane protein OmpF porin.