Single Molecules as Probes of Lipid Membrane Microenvironments

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This research project, supported in the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, uses near and far field microscopic methods, coupled with single molecule spectrosocpy, to quantify the environmental origin of single molecule fluctuations in the spectroscopy of probe molecules in membrane systems. Systematic studies of single molecule emission fluctuations in a series of highly ordered and well characterized lipid monolayers and bilayers are used to develop a set of single molecule probes that are used to obtain structural information about membrane systems. Professor Robert Dunn and his collaborators at the University of Kansas are developing this approach to provide information about membrane systems containing cholesterol and lung surfactant proteins. In order to understand the functioning of cell membranes and related biological systems, detailed structural information must be obtained in the environment in which the membrane operates. By coupling near and far-field microscopic methods with studies of probe molecule emission fluctuations, Professor Dunn and his coworkers at the University of Kansas are developing structural probes that can provide this information. A systematic investigation of probe molecule fluctuations in a series of highly ordered model membranes is used to develop this probe methodology.