Chemical Imaging of Lipid Domains by High-Resolution Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (HR-SIMS)
Highlight from section(s) IRG 2, Research
Mary Kraft†, Peter Webber§, Ian Hutcheon § Marjorie Longo‡ & Steven Boxer†,
†Stanford University, §Lawrence Livermore National Lab & ‡UC Davis
Marjorie Longo, UC Davis; Steve Boxer, Stanford University
Phase separated supported lipid bilayers were chemically imaged by HR-SIMS performed with the NanoSIMS 50 (Cameca Instruments). A focused Cs+ ion beam is rastered across the sample, extensively fragmenting the surface components. Secondary ions of up to 5 different masses are simultaneously detected and a lateral resolution of 50 nm can be achieved. In our experiments, a unique stable isotope was selectively incorporated into each membrane component, and the intensity and location of the isotopically enriched secondary ions were used to create a component-specific image of the phase separated lipid bilayer.
