Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 16: Membranes, Vesicles and Synthetic Life-like Systems II

BP 16.5: Talk

Wednesday, March 11, 2026, 10:45–11:00, BAR/0205

Excitable lipid nanotubes as a model system of neuron signaling and for neuromorphic systems — •Jan Steinkühler — CAU Kiel University, Germany

Voltage-sensitive ion channels stand at the centre in the study of cellular excitability in neuronal networks. However, the spatial propagation of electrical waves along nerve fibres is not a property inherent to an individual ion channel but rather emerges from the arrangement of ion channels along a tubular lipid membrane. While the in vitro study of functional ion channels in model membranes is well established, the propagation of an action potential along a lipid-bilayer nanotube has not yet been investigated. Here we present our experimental work examining these phenomena with electro-optical measurements on force-induced lipid nanotubes and demonstrate the cable-like properties of such nanotubes. Furthermore, we study memory effects arising from the interplay between electrical-field-induced lipid migration and ionic nanofluidic conductance. Finally, we show our lab’s efforts toward automated cell-free expression of ion channels and data-driven modeling of membrane excitability. More broadly, our results help establish the interplay between membrane phase, shape, and electrical properties in a controlled experimental setup.

Keywords: active matter; Excitable Membrane; lipid nanotubes; synthetic neuron