Non-Brownian diffusion of membrane molecules in nanopatterned supported lipid bilayers.
Molecules associated with the outer surface of living cells exhibit complex, non-Brownian patterns of diffusion. In this report, supported lipid bilayers were patterned with nanoscale barriers to capture key aspects of this anomalous diffusion in a controllable format. First, long-range diffusion coefficients of membrane-associated molecules were significantly reduced by the presence of the barriers, while short-range diffusion was unaffected. Second, this modulation was more pronounced for large molecular complexes than for individual lipids. Surprisingly, the quantitative effect of these barriers on long-range lipid diffusion could be accurately simulated using a simple, continuum-based model of diffusion on a nanostructured surface; we thus describe a metamaterial that captures the properties of the outer membrane of living cells.
Tsai
Jones
J
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA.
Sun
Eileen
E
Gao
Yuan
Y
Hone
James C
JC
Kam
Lance C
LC
D003198:Computer Simulation; D004058:Diffusion; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
D008051:Lipid Bilayers; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008565:Membrane Proteins