The Study of Peptide Interactions with Supported Lipid Bilayers Using Microcantilevers

We explore the lateral expansion of supported lipid bilayers caused by peptide adsorption and pore formation, using the microcantilevers. We have recently shown that microcantilevers are useful in sensing how surfactants adsorb and solubilize the supported membrane, in a manner that differs from free-standing membranes.  Short amphipathic peptides are also able to bind, alter, and even solubilize supported lipid bilayers.  These findings open up possible techniques to monitor protein aggregations using microcantilevers; a quantitative explanation of how the surface stress can be related to changes in the surface-bound proteins is still unclear. We will discuss establishing a method for quantifying the peptide-induced mechanical response of the microcantilevers.