help button home button Biophys. J.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Originally published as Biophys J. BioFAST on December 13, 2004.
doi:10.1529/biophysj.104.052456
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
biophysj.104.052456v1
88/3/2154    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Feng, Z. V.
Right arrow Articles by Gewirth, A. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Feng, Z. V.
Right arrow Articles by Gewirth, A. A.
Biophysical Journal 88:2154-2164 (2005)
© 2005 The Biophysical Society

Direct Visualization of Asymmetric Behavior in Supported Lipid Bilayers at the Gel-Fluid Phase Transition

Z. Vivian Feng, Tighe A. Spurlin and Andrew A. Gewirth

Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois

Correspondence: Address reprint requests to Andrew A. Gewirth, Dept. of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801. Tel.: 217-333-8329; Fax: 217-333-2685; E-mail: agewirth{at}uiuc.edu.

We utilize in situ, temperature-dependent atomic force microscopy to examine the gel-fluid phase transition behavior in supported phospholipid bilayers constructed from 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, 1,2-dipentadecanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine. The primary gel-fluid phase transition at Tm occurs through development of anisotropic cracks in the gel phase, which develop into the fluid phase. At ~5°C above Tm, atomic force microscopy studies reveal the presence of a secondary phase transition in all three bilayers studied. The secondary phase transition occurs as a consequence of decoupling between the two leaflets of the bilayer due to enhanced stabilization of the lower leaflet with either the support or the water entrained between the support and the bilayer. Addition of the transmembrane protein gramicidin A or construction of a highly defected gel phase results in elimination of this decoupling and removal of the secondary phase transition.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Biophys. JHome page
G. Oncins, L. Picas, J. Hernandez-Borrell, S. Garcia-Manyes, and F. Sanz
Thermal Response of Langmuir-Blodgett Films of Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine Studied by Atomic Force Microscopy and Force Spectroscopy
Biophys. J., October 15, 2007; 93(8): 2713 - 2725.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Biophys. JHome page
T. A. Spurlin and A. A. Gewirth
Poly-L-Lysine-Induced Morphology Changes in Mixed Anionic/Zwitterionic and Neat Zwitterionic-Supported Phospholipid Bilayers
Biophys. J., October 15, 2006; 91(8): 2919 - 2927.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Biophys. JHome page
M. J. Higgins, M. Polcik, T. Fukuma, J. E. Sader, Y. Nakayama, and S. P. Jarvis
Structured Water Layers Adjacent to Biological Membranes
Biophys. J., October 1, 2006; 91(7): 2532 - 2542.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2005 by the Biophysical Society.