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Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging and Force Spectroscopy of Supported Lipid Bilayers
Published on: July 22, 2015
Lipid bilayer reorganization under extreme pH conditions
Matthew P Goertz1, Nikita Goyal, Gabriel A Montano
1Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, United States. mgoertz@sandia.gov
Abstract:
Supported lipid bilayers containing phosphatidylcholine headgroups are observed to undergo reorganization from a 2D fluid, lipid bilayer assembly into an array of complex 3D structures upon exposure to extreme pH environments. These conditions induce a combination of molecular packing and electrostatic interactions that can create dynamic morphologies of highly curved lipid membrane structures. This work demonstrates that fluid, single-component lipid bilayer assemblies can create complex morphologies, a phenomenon typically only associated with lipid bilayers of mixed composition.
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