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Updated: May 4, 2026

Atomic Force Microscopy Imaging and Force Spectroscopy of Supported Lipid Bilayers
Published on: July 22, 2015
Ripple formation in unilamellar-supported lipid bilayer revealed by FRAPP
Frédéric Harb1, Anne Simon, Bernard Tinland
1CNRS, UMR7325, Aix-Marseille Univ., CINaM, 13288, Marseille, France.
Abstract:
The mechanisms of formation and conditions of the existence of the ripple phase are fundamental thermodynamic questions with practical implications for medicine and pharmaceuticals. We reveal a new case of ripple formation occurring in unilamellar-supported bilayers in water, which results solely from the bilayer/support interaction, without using lipid mixtures or specific ions. This ripple phase is detected by FRAPP using diffusion coefficient measurements as a function of temperature: a diffusivity plateau is observed. It occurs in the same temperature range where ripple phase existence has been observed using other methods. When AFM experiments are performed in the appropriate temperature range the ripple phase is confirmed.
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