Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 27, 2026

Assembly of Cell Mimicking Supported and Suspended Lipid Bilayer Models for the Study of Molecular Interactions
Published on: August 3, 2021
Disassembly of Dipeptide Single Crystals Can Transform the Lipid Membrane into a Network
Meifang Fu1,2, Qi Li1,2, Bingbing Sun1,2
1Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), CAS Key Lab of Colloid, Interface and Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 100190 Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Coupling between cytoskeleton and membranes is critical to cell movement as well as organelle formation. Here, we demonstrate that self-assembled single crystals of a dipeptide, diphenylalanine (FF), can interact with liposomes to form cytoskeleton-like structures. Under a physiological condition, disassembly of FF crystals deforms and translocates supported lipid membrane. The system exhibits similar dynamic characteristics to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) network in cells. This bottom-up system thus indicates that external matter can participate in the deformation of liposomes, and disassembly of the nanostructures enables a system with distinct dynamic behaviors.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
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...
Detergent Purification of Membrane Proteins

