Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 8: Poster Session Ia

BP 8.24: Poster

Monday, March 18, 2024, 18:00–20:30, Poster C

Nobody is perfect: inspecting the defects of lipid membrane stacks by STED microscopy and X-ray diffraction — •Sarah Becker, Jette Alfken, and Tim Salditt — Institute for X-Ray Physics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

Solid-supported lipid membranes are an important model system for biological membranes. A commonly used method to study the structure of lipid bilayers is x-ray reflectometry which yields averaged information such as the number of membranes deposited, the bilayer thickness, and the density profile. However, information regarding single defects in membranes is not accessible by this ensemble averaging technique based on diffraction. Now, we have applied different fluorescence microscopy techniques such as epifluorescence, confocal and STED microscopy, in order to examine local defects in oligo lipid membrane stacks. The high resolution STED images extend the multi-scale structural characterization of membrane stacks by brightfield microscopy and x-ray reflectometry, which we also have applied. The study shows that the idealized assumption of perfect stacks without defects is not warranted and that (partial) dewetting effects can easily be encountered when preparing bilayers by spin coating.

Keywords: membranes; defects; STED; x-ray diffraction; microscopy