Centro S3, CNR-Istituto Nanoscienze, Via Campi 213/A, 41125 Modena, Italy.
Micron. 2012 Dec;43(12):1212-23. doi: 10.1016/j.micron.2012.03.013. Epub 2012 Mar 28.
The mechanical properties of biological systems are emerging as fundamental in determining their functional activity. For example, cells continuously probe their environment by applying forces and, at the same time, are exposed to forces produced by the same environment. Also in biological membranes, the activity of membrane related proteins are affected by the overall mechanical properties of the hosting environment. Traditionally, the mesoscopic mechanical properties of lipid bilayers have been studied by micropipette aspiration techniques. In recent years, the possibility of probing mechanical properties of lipid bilayers at the nanoscale has been promoted by the force spectroscopy potentiality of Atomic Force Microscopes (AFM). By acquiring force-curves on supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) it is possible to probe the mechanical properties on a scale relevant to the interaction between membrane proteins and lipid bilayers and to monitor changes of these properties as a result of a changing environment. Here, we review a series of force spectroscopy experiments performed on SLBs with an emphasis on the functional consequences the measured mechanical properties can have on membrane proteins. We also discuss the force spectroscopy experiments on SLBs in the context of theories developed for dynamic force spectroscopy experiments with the aim to extract the kinetic and energetic description of the process of membrane rupture.
生物系统的力学特性在决定其功能活动方面正变得越来越重要。例如，细胞通过施加力来不断探测其环境，同时也受到来自同一环境的力的影响。同样，在生物膜中，膜相关蛋白的活性也受到宿主环境整体力学特性的影响。传统上，通过微管吸吮技术研究脂质双层的介观力学特性。近年来，原子力显微镜（AFM）的力谱潜力促进了在纳米尺度探测脂质双层力学特性的可能性。通过在支撑脂质双层（SLB）上获取力曲线，可以探测到与膜蛋白和脂质双层相互作用相关的尺度上的力学特性，并监测由于环境变化而导致的这些特性的变化。在这里，我们回顾了一系列在 SLB 上进行的力谱实验，重点讨论了所测量的力学特性对膜蛋白可能产生的功能后果。我们还讨论了在针对动态力谱实验开发的理论背景下进行的 SLB 力谱实验，旨在提取膜破裂过程的动力学和能量描述。
