Phase separation of lipid membranes analyzed with high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometry

Mary L. Kraft, Peter K. Weber, Marjorie L. Longo, Ian D. Hutcheon, Steven G. Boxer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Lateral variations in membrane composition are postulated to play a central role in many cellular events, but it has been difficult to probe membrane composition and organization on length scales of tens to hundreds of nanometers. We present a high-resolution imaging secondary ion mass spectrometry technique to reveal the lipid distribution within a phase-separated membrane with a lateral resolution of ∼100 nanometers. Quantitative information about the chemical composition within small lipid domains was obtained with the use of isotopic labels to identify each molecular species. Composition variations were detected within some domains.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1948-1951
Number of pages4
JournalScience
Volume313
Issue number5795
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 29 2006
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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