Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
Published on: July 19, 2022
Diffusion and interaction dynamics of individual membrane protein complexes confined in micropatterned
Sharon Waichman1, Friedrich Roder, Christian P Richter
1Department of Biology, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany.
Abstract:
Micropatterned polymer-supported membranes (PSM) are established as a tool for confining the diffusion of transmembrane proteins for single molecule studies. To this end, a photochemical surface modification with hydrophobic tethers on a PEG polymer brush is implemented for capturing of lipid vesicles and subsequent fusion. Formation of contiguous membranes within micropatterns is confirmed by scanning force microscopy, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), and super-resolved single-molecule tracking and localization microscopy. Free diffusion of transmembrane proteins reconstituted into micropatterned PSM is demonstrated by FRAP and by single-molecule tracking. By exploiting the confinement of diffusion within micropatterned PSM, the diffusion and interaction dynamics of individual transmembrane receptors are quantitatively resolved.
Related Concept Videos
Protein Diffusion in the Membrane
Mechanisms of Membrane Domain Formation
Another mechanism for membrane domain formation involves membrane proteins interacting with cytoskeletal...
Fluid Mosaic Model
Protein Dynamics in Living Cells
Fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) is a fluorescent-protein-based detection technique used to quantify protein movement rates within the cell. This method exposes a small portion of the cell to an intense laser beam. The laser beam causes permanent photobleaching of the fluorophore-tagged proteins in the exposed region. As the bleached...
Facilitated Diffusion
In this process, substrates such as organic compounds and ions interact with a transporter on one side, triggering conformational changes in proteins that enable...

