Molecular resolution of a dioleoyl-Sn-glycero-phosphocholine lipid bilayer in liquid by phase modulation atomic force microscopy

作者：Hoel Antonin; Osaki Toshihisa; Takeuchi Shoji; Volz Sebastian^*; Kawakatsu Hideki

来源：Applied Physics Letters, 2012, 101(6): 063117.

DOI：10.1063/1.4745184

We present a molecular resolved image of a supported lipid bilayer using atomic force microscopy in liquid conditions. Due to the well-known molecular diffusion processes with velocities of a few nm/s occurring in free-standing membranes, this type of mapping is difficult to achieve. We have obtained a sub-nanometer scale resolution of a dioleoyl-sn-glycero-phosphocholine membrane because of the high sensitivity of our phase modulated microscope and the slowed down diffusion due to the interaction with the substrate. A pair function analysis has revealed local disordered and gel phases with an order range limited to the first neighbour.

• 出版日期2012-8-6