Scanning tunneling microscopy of planar biomembranes

We combined planar membrane monolayer techniques with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to measure the thickness of metal-coated purple membrane (PM) isolated from Halobacterium halobium. Although the metal coating precluded obtaining high-resolution lateral information, it facilitated obtaining h...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ultramicroscopy 1990-08, Vol.33 (2), p.117-126
Main Authors: Fisher, K.A., Yanagimoto, K.C., Whitfield, S.L., Thomson, R.E., Gustafsson, M.G.L., Clarke, J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cell Membrane - ultrastructure
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Electron diffraction and scattering
Exact sciences and technology
Halobacterium - ultrastructure
Metals
Microscopy, Scanning Tunneling
Physics
Structure of solids and liquids
crystallography
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Summary:We combined planar membrane monolayer techniques with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to measure the thickness of metal-coated purple membrane (PM) isolated from Halobacterium halobium. Although the metal coating precluded obtaining high-resolution lateral information, it facilitated obtaining high-resolution vertical information. For example, the apparent mean thickness of planar PM and variations in thickness of enzyme-treated PM could be detected and quantified at sub-nanometer resolution.
ISSN:0304-3991
1879-2723
DOI:10.1016/0304-3991(90)90014-D