from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) belongs to the nanoimaging methods employing the fine driving of the probe movement, where its interaction with the sample gives a detailed view of the surface structure. The ability to control the motion of the sample and thus its force interaction with the surface provides the possibility to map the sample's mechanical properties at the nanoscale, but also, for example, to influence the sample, even destructively, which can provide further interesting information. AFM ability to study the structure of biological molecules is here represented by the supported lipid bilayer (SLB), a synthetic model for cellular membranes. The traditional approach of SLB structural study can be extended by the destructive use of AFM probe, penetrating through the solid structure of the double layer, leaving a typical pattern in the measured curves. The characteristics of this mark then help in the detailed characterisation of the mechanical properties of this synthetic membrane in particular.
Keywords: Phospholipid bilayers, Atomic Force Microscopy, Force-Distance Curves, Smoothing splines, Local extrema© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.