Nano-chemical infrared imaging of membrane proteins in lipid bilayers

J Am Chem Soc. 2013 Dec 11;135(49):18292-5. doi: 10.1021/ja409815g. Epub 2013 Dec 2.

Abstract

The spectroscopic characterization of biomolecular structures requires nanometer spatial resolution and chemical specificity. We perform full spatio-spectral imaging of dried purple membrane patches purified from Halobacterium salinarum with infrared vibrational scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM). Using near-field spectral phase contrast based on the Amide I resonance of the protein backbone, we identify the protein distribution with 20 nm spatial resolution and few-protein sensitivity. This demonstrates the general applicability of s-SNOM vibrational nanospectroscopy, with potential extension to a wide range of biomolecular systems.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Lipid Bilayers*
  • Membrane Proteins / chemistry*
  • Microscopy, Atomic Force
  • Nanotechnology*
  • Spectrophotometry, Infrared / methods*

Substances

  • Lipid Bilayers
  • Membrane Proteins