Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of Freeze-Fracture Replicas of Biomembranes
The high resolution of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) makes it a potentially important tool for the study of biomaterials. Biological materials can be imaged with the STM by a procedure in which fluid, nonconductive biomaterials are replaced by rigid and highly conductive freeze-fracture re...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1988-02, Vol.239 (4843), p.1013-1015 |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | The high resolution of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) makes it a potentially important tool for the study of biomaterials. Biological materials can be imaged with the STM by a procedure in which fluid, nonconductive biomaterials are replaced by rigid and highly conductive freeze-fracture replicas. The three-dimensional contours of the ripple phase of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine bilayers were imaged with unprecedented resolution with commercial STMs and standard freeze-fracture techniques. Details of the ripple amplitude, asymmetry, and configuration unobtainable by electron microscopy or x-ray diffraction can be observed relatively easily with the STM. |
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ISSN: | 0036-8075 1095-9203 |
DOI: | 10.1126/science.3344420 |