Altering model cell membranes by means of localized magnetic heating

[Display omitted] •Magnetic hydrophobic nanoparticles are immobilized onto a model cell membrane.•An Alternating Magnetic Field (AMF) induces changes in the membrane fluidity.•Embedding of MNPs into the monolayer occurs due to a local thermal rise. Isolated iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), 12 nm in diameter, coated with oleic acid molecules as capping agents have been deposited by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method onto a model cell membrane incorporating 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and Cholesterol (Chol) in the 1:1 ratio, which was also fabricated by the LB technique. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) experiments showed that the application of an alternating magnetic field results in the embedding of the MNPs through the phospholipidic layer. These experimental results reveal that the heating of individual MNPs may induce a local increase in the fluidity of the film with a large control of the spatial and temporal specificity.