Electromechanical Memory in Lipid Bilayers: A Bioinspired Platform for Tunable Biointerfaces

While biological memory is conventionally attributed to protein-based networks, growing evidence reveals that lipid bilayers themselves can exhibit memory-like behavior rooted in their electromechanical and structural complexity. Drawing from recent studies on long-term potentiation (LTP), memcapacitance, and supramolecular organization in model and native neuronal membranes, we outline a bioinspired framework in which lipid membranes function as adaptive dipolar media capable of encoding and retaining past stimuli. Composed of amphiphilic molecules with polar headgroups, these bilayers support collective dipolar fluctuations that are modulated by electric fields, hydration levels, and ionic composition. Experimental observations demonstrate persistent, stimulus-dependent shifts in membrane capacitance. Notably, such effects are observed even in the absence of proteins, suggesting that the lipid matrix itself possesses intrinsic memory capabilities. We explore the physical basis of this phenomenon through a combination of patch-clamp electrophysiology, molecular dynamics simulations, and X-ray and neutron scattering. Together, these results position lipid membranes as soft, tunable, and energy-efficient memory substrates, offering foundational principles for the design of neuromorphic materials and expanding the scope of biological information processing beyond traditional protein-centric models.

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