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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Fluorescence Recovery after Merging a Droplet to Measure the Two-dimensional Diffusion of a Phospholipid Monolayer
Published on: October 15, 2015
Evidence for leaflet-dependent redistribution of charged molecules in fluid supported phospholipid bilayers
Andrew P Shreve1, Michael C Howland, Annapoorna R Sapuri-Butti
1Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Materials Physics and Applications Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
Abstract:
The asymmetric distribution of charged molecules between the leaflets of solid-substrate-supported phospholipid bilayers is studied using imaging ellipsometry, fluorescence microscopy, and numerical solutions of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. Experiments are facilitated by the use of patterned substrates that allow for side-by-side comparison of lipid monolayers and supported bilayers. On silica surfaces, negatively charged lipid components are shown to be enriched in the outer leaflet of a supported bilayer system at modest salt concentrations. The approaches developed provide a general means for determining asymmetries of charged components in supported lipid bilayers.
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