Probing peptide–membrane interactions using AFM

Robert Brasseur, Magali Deleu, Marie-PauleMingeot-Leclercq, Grégory Francius and Yves F. Dufrêne

Surf. Interface Anal. 2008; 40: 151–156

Atomic forcemicroscopy (AFM) has become a powerful addition to the range of instruments available to probe the organization
of lipid monolayers and bilayers. Currently, AFM is the only tool that can provide nanoscale topographic images of supported
lipid membranes under physiological conditions, enabling researchers to resolve their detailed structure and to monitor their
interaction with drugs, peptides and proteins. Here, we survey recent data obtained by our research groups that demonstrate
the power of the technique for exploring peptide–membrane interactions, with an emphasis on microbial lipopeptides and on
tilted peptides.

Copyrightc 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: AFM; membranes; nanoscale resolution; peptides; real-time imaging; supported lipid films