Model Membranes and Bioactive Molecule Membrane Interactions

Two Apposing Monolayers Form a Droplet Interface Bilayer (DIB): A Model Cell Membrane. Self-assembled structure of microdroplet at the monolayer and bilayer provides unique opportunities to study the intriguing chemistry at the liquid-liquid interface.

Lipid membranes are essential biological interfaces whose structure and properties depend sensitively on lipid composition and the surrounding ionic aqueous medium. Our research uses droplet interface bilayers and related model membrane systems to examine how changes in lipid composition and salt conditions influence membrane structure, dynamics, and permeability. Within this framework, we also investigate how drugs and other bioactive molecules interact with lipid bilayers and modulate membrane organization and function, providing insight into membrane-active processes relevant to chemistry, biology, and medicine. In recent studies, we showed that the droplet interface bilayer (DIB) can serve as a convenient and effective platform for rapidly assessing subtle structural effects on bilayer water permeability.


Selected publications. For more details, please see our publications. (undergraduate co-authors are underlined)


  • Caroline Scott, Riley Porteus, Shoji Takeuchi, Toshihisa Osaki, and Sunghee Lee, Electrophysiological Characterization of Monoolein-Fatty Acid Bilayers,Langmuir, 2025, 41, 4, 2293–2299.https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c03814
  • Jamie Gudyka,Jasmin Ceja-Vega, Michael Krmic,Riley Porteus, and Sunghee Lee, The Role of Lipid Intrinsic Curvature in the Droplet Interface Bilayer, Langmuir, 2024, 40, 22, 11428–11435.https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c00270
  • Jamie Gudyka,Jasmin Ceja-Vega,Katherine Ivanchenko,Zachary Morocho, Micaela Panella,Alondra Gamez Hernandez,Colleen Clarke,Escarlin Perez,Shakinah Silverberg and Sunghee Lee, Concentration-Dependent Effects of Curcumin on Membrane Permeability and Structure, ACS Pharmacol. Transl. Sci., 2024, 7, 5, 1546-1556.https://doi.org/10.1021/acsptsci.4c00093
  • Jamie Gudyka,Jasmin Ceja-Vega,Katherine Ivanchenko,Wilber Perla,Christopher Poust,Alondra Gamez Hernandez,Colleen Clarke,Shakinah Silverberg,Escarlin Perez, and Sunghee Lee, Differential Effects of Soy Isoflavones on the Biophysical Properties of Model Membranes, J.Phys.Chem.B, 2024, 128 (10), 2412–2424.https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c08390
  • Michael Krmic, Escarlin Perez, Patrick Scollan, Katherine Ivanchenko, Alondra Gamez Hernandez, Joseph Giancaspro, Juan Rosario, Jasmin Ceja-Vega, Jamie Gudyka, Riley Porteus, and Sunghee Lee, Aspirin Interacts with Cholesterol-Containing Membranes in a pH-Dependent Manner, Langmuir, 2023, 39, 46, 16444–16456. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c02242
  • Jasmin Ceja-Vega, Escarlin Perez, Patrick Scollan, Juan Rosario, Alondra Gamez Hernandez, Katherine Ivanchenko, Jamie Gudyka, and Sunghee Lee, Resveratrol decreases membrane water permeability: a study of cholesterol-dependent interactions, The Journal of Membrane Biology, 1–16, 2022 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00232-022-00250-0
  • Escarlin Perez, Jasmin Ceja-Vega,Krmic, Michael, Alondra Gamez Hernandez, Jamie Gudyka, Riley Porteus,Sunghee Lee, Differential Interaction of Cannabidiol with Biomembranes Dependent on Cholesterol Concentration, ACS Chem. Neuroscience, 2022, 13 (7), 1046–1054  https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acschemneuro.2c00040
  • Megan Wood, Michael Morales, Elizabeth Miller, Samuel Braziel, Joseph Giancaspro, Patrick Scollan, Juan Rosario, Alyssa Gayapa, Michael Krmic, and Sunghee Lee, "Ibuprofen and the Phosphatidylcholine Bilayer: Membrane Water Permeability in the Presence and Absence of Cholesterol" Langmuir, 2021, 37(15), pp.4468-4480. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c03638
  • Shea Foley, Elizabeth Miller, Samuel Braziel, and Sunghee Lee, “Molecular Organization in Mixed SOPC and SDPC Model Membranes: Water Permeability Studies of Polyunsaturated Lipid Bilayers”, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Biomembranes, 1862 (2020) 183365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamem.2020.183365
  • Lee, Sunghee, Good to the Last Drop: Interfacial Droplet Chemistry, from Crystals to Biological Membranes, Acc. Chem. Res., 2018, 51 (10), 2524–2534. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.accounts.8b00277
  • Lopez, Maria; Denver, Jacqueline; Evangelista, Sue Ellen; Armetta, Alessandra; Di Domizio, Gabriella; Lee, Sunghee “Effects of Acyl Chain Unsaturation on Activation Energy of Water Permeability Across Droplet Bilayers of Homologous Monoglycerides: Role of Cholesterol” Langmuir, 2018, 34(5), 2147-2157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b03590
  • Samuel Braziel, Kalen Sullivan, and Sunghee Lee. “Quantitative Raman microspectroscopy for water permeability parameters at a droplet interface bilayer.” Analyst, 2018, 143(3), 747-755. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c7an01349c
  • Maria Lopez, Sue Ellen Evangelista, Melissa Morales, and Sunghee Lee, “Enthalpic Effects of Chain Length and Unsaturation on Water Permeability across Droplet Bilayers of Homologous Monoglycerides”, Langmuir, 2017, 33 (4), pp 900–912. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b03932
  • P.J. Milianta, M. Muzzio, J. Denver, G. Cawley, S.Lee, “Water Permeability Across Symmetric and Asymmetric Droplet Interface Bilayers: Interaction of Cholesterol Sulfate with DPhPC”, Langmuir, 31 (44), pp 12187–12196, 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b02748
  • Z. Michalak, M. Muzzio, P.J. Milianta, R. Giacomini, S.Lee, “Effect of Monoglyceride Structure and Cholesterol Content on Water Permeability of the Droplet Bilayer”, Langmuir, 29 (51), 15919-15925, 2013. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/la4040535