Probing Pluronic Insertion into Supported Lipid Membranes

We report the use of the lipid–membrane coated microcantilevers to probe the interactions between phospholipid membranes and membrane-active block copolymers, Pluronics.  As molecules physisorb or chemisorb onto the surface of the microcantilever, the microcantilever bends due to induced compressive or tensile stresses, which result from the surface free energy change.  We combine these surface stress measurments with FRAP experiments to determine the association of Pluronics with supported membranes as a function of polymer length and temperature.