Genesis of a Horizontal Electric Field within the Lipid Bilayer: A Bilayer-Embedded Actuation Platform

Maki Komiya; Madoka Sato; Teng Ma; Hironori Kageyama; Tatsuya Nomoto; Takahisa Maki; Masayuki Iwamoto; Miyu Terashima; Daiki Ando; Takaya Watanabe; Yoshikazu Shimada; Daisuke Tadaki; Hideaki Yamamoto; Yuzuru Tozawa; Ryugo Tero; Albert Marti; Jordi Madrenas; Shigeru Kubota; Fumihiko Hirose; Michio Niwano; Shigetoshi Oiki; Ayumi Hirano-Iwata

arXiv · 2510.15637

Genesis of a Horizontal Electric Field within the Lipid Bilayer: A Bilayer-Embedded Actuation Platform

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Abstract

The electric field of biological membranes has long been treated as a one-dimensional quantity, defined solely by the component normal to the bilayer (E_VERT). Here, we present a bioelectronic platform that enables controlled generation of a horizontal electric field within the hydrophobic core of a lipid bilayer (E_HORZ). The device incorporates micrometer-scale electrodes embedded within the bilayer torus, allowing sustained E_HORZ actuation. Applied E_HORZ selectively and reversibly accelerates slow inactivation of a voltage-gated potassium channel while leaving activation essentially unchanged. Physical considerations further indicate that E_HORZ arises naturally wherever membrane potential varies spatially, including at action potential wavefronts, suggesting broader physiological relevance. This platform provides experimental access to vector-resolved membrane electric fields and establishes a generalizable strategy for multidirectional electrical control of soft-matter biointerfaces.

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Maki Komiya, Madoka Sato, Teng Ma, Hironori Kageyama, Tatsuya Nomoto, Takahisa Maki, Masayuki Iwamoto, Miyu Terashima, Daiki Ando, Takaya Watanabe, Yoshikazu Shimada, Daisuke Tadaki, Hideaki Yamamoto, Yuzuru Tozawa, Ryugo Tero, Albert Marti, Jordi Madrenas, Shigeru Kubota, Fumihiko Hirose, Michio Niwano, Shigetoshi Oiki, Ayumi Hirano-Iwata. 2026-04-08. Genesis of a Horizontal Electric Field within the Lipid Bilayer: A Bilayer-Embedded Actuation Platform. https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.15637

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