Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 13: Posters: Biological Membranes

BP 13.17: Poster

Monday, March 14, 2011, 17:15–20:00, P3

Interaction of charged colloidal beads with oppositely charged freestanding lipid membranes — •Markus Anton, Christoph Herold, Eugene P. Petrov, and Petra Schwille — Biophysics, BIOTEC, TU Dresden, Tatzberg 47/49, 01307 Dresden, Germany

Membrane-mediated interactions are believed to be important in lateral organization of membrane proteins and peptides. A system consisting of charged (sub)micrometer-sized colloidal particles interacting with an oppositely charged lipid membrane can serve as a simple model of a membrane with interacting inclusions.

Previously it was reported [1] that negatively charged micron-sized latex beads can form stable ordered clusters at oppositely charged surfactant membranes. In contrast, no mutual attraction between smaller (< 100 nm in diameter) negatively charged polystyrene beads on cationic freestanding lipid membranes was observed [2]. To resolve this controversy, we carry out a systematic investigation of the interaction of negatively charged polystyrene beads with positively charged lipid membranes as a function of the bead size, surface density of membrane-attached beads, and the membrane charge density using fluorescence video microscopy with a sub-second time resolution.

[1] H. Aranda-Espinoza et al., Science 285, 394 (1999); L. Ramos et al., Science 286, 2325 (1999)

[2] C. Herold, P. Schwille, E. P. Petrov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 148102 (2010)