Near-field studies of submicron membrane domains

NEAR-FIELD STUDIES OF SUBMICRON MEMBRANE DOMAINS 

Complementing the above work on model membranes, Edidin and coworkers have performed an NSOM study of the nanoscale structure of lipid and protein patches in human skin fibroblasts [22], As with the work of Dunn and co-workers [18,19], this work reveals lipid-rich regions with dimensions of 200 nm and smaller. Fig. 6(A) depicts an NSOM fluorescence image of a cellular 

Other NSOM studies have revealed evidence for structural features that promote interaction between different membrane proteins. By exploiting the high spatial resolution of NSOM, Ianoul and co-workers have performed 

Model lipid bilayers have long been the focus of research and a vast literature exists discussing various approaches to fabricating bilayer films, measuring their physical properties, and understanding the influence of various constituents on those properties. These structures, ubiquitous in nature, can be formed on substrates where they are amenable for study with surface techniques such as AFM and NSOM. 

For bilayers in which each monolayer is transferred in a phase coexistence region of the pressure isotherm, the phase structure in each leaflet of the bilayer is preserved. For example, each leaflet of the bilayer shown in Fig. 8 was transferred in the LE-LC phase coexistence region of the pressure isotherm. 

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