Electro-optical imaging microscopy of dye-doped artificial lipidic membranes

Biophys J. 2009 Dec 2;97(11):2913-21. doi: 10.1016/j.bpj.2009.08.055.

Abstract

Artificial lipidic bilayers are widely used as a model for the lipid matrix in biological cell membranes. We use the Pockels electro-optical effect to investigate the properties of an artificial lipidic membrane doped with nonlinear molecules in the outer layer. We report here what is believed to be the first electro-optical Pockels signal and image from such a membrane. The electro-optical dephasing distribution within the membrane is imaged and the signal is shown to be linear as a function of the applied voltage. A theoretical analysis taking into account the statistical orientation distribution of the inserted dye molecules allows us to estimate the doped membrane nonlinearity. Ongoing extensions of this work to living cell membranes are discussed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Membrane / chemistry
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism
  • Coloring Agents / metabolism*
  • Lipid Bilayers / chemistry
  • Lipid Bilayers / metabolism*
  • Membrane Potentials
  • Membranes, Artificial*
  • Microfluidic Analytical Techniques
  • Microscopy
  • Molecular Imaging*
  • Optical Phenomena
  • Phosphatidylcholines / chemistry
  • Phosphatidylcholines / metabolism
  • Potentiometry
  • Pyridinium Compounds / metabolism

Substances

  • 1-(3-sulfonatopropyl)-4-(beta-(2-(di-n-octylamino)-6-naphthyl)vinyl)pyridinium betaine
  • Coloring Agents
  • Lipid Bilayers
  • Membranes, Artificial
  • Phosphatidylcholines
  • Pyridinium Compounds