Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Method to Visualize and Analyze Membrane Interacting Proteins by Transmission Electron Microscopy
Published on: March 5, 2017
Lipid bilayer discs and banded tubules: photoinduced lipid sorting in ternary mixtures
Jing Yuan1, Steven M Hira, Geoffrey F Strouse
1MARTECH (Center for Materials Science and Technology) and the Department of Physics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4350, USA.
Abstract:
The self-assembly of biological amphiphiles has proved a fascinating topic in recent years, the hollow cylindrical lipid tubule morphology being of particular interest due to its potential applications in "soft" microtechnologies. Lateral coexistence of liquid-ordered (lo) and liquid-disordered (ld) phases, which may resemble raft formation in cell membranes, was investigated in lipid tubules, prepared from 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, egg-sphingomyelin, and cholesterol. Fluorescence microscopy shows that the appearance of micrometer-scale lo domains in the lipid tubule is not an intrinsic phase behavior of the system but a consequence of photoinduced lipid peroxidation. Most interestingly, new photoinduced bilayer structures: lipid discs, essentially stable flattened liposomes, were observed for the first time in a model membrane system. This investigation not only aids in our understanding of lipid sorting phenomena in cell membranes but also demonstrates how control of this process may provide a route to the generation of new, functional structures.
More Related Videos
12:18Assembly of Cell Mimicking Supported and Suspended Lipid Bilayer Models for the Study of Molecular Interactions
Published on: August 3, 2021
07:49Spontaneous Formation and Rearrangement of Artificial Lipid Nanotube Networks as a Bottom-Up Model for Endoplasmic Reticulum
Published on: January 22, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
Assembly of the Lipid Bilayer in the ER
A large chunk of any biological membrane is composed of phospholipids. These lipids have a heterogeneous distribution across different subcellular organelles and even between...
Fluid Mosaic Model
Membrane Fluidity
Mosaic nature of the membrane
The mosaic characteristic of the membrane helps the plasma membrane remain fluid. The integral proteins and lipids exist as separate but loosely-attached molecules in the membrane. The membrane is a relatively...
Membrane Domains
Protein Domains
The membrane comprises a group of distinct proteins responsible for carrying out a cell's specific function. For example, the plasma membrane of the human sperm, or a single germ cell, contains a unique set of proteins in the anterior...