In situ investigations of the formation of mixed supported lipid bilayers close to the phase transition temperature

The formation of supported phospholipid bilayers (SPBs) has been studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and by dissipation-enhanced quartz crystal microbalance (QCM-D). AFM experiments on mixed bilayers of 1,2-dimyristoyi-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DMPC) and 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) permit to visualize in situ the process of bilayer formation, starting with vesicle adsorption to the formation of bilayer patches and finally to complete bilayers. QCM-D experiments using the same systems show how the process and its kinetics are controlled by temperature.