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Interfacial organization of lipids and lipid-protein mixtures at solid surfaces provide an elegant route to designing well-defined fluid interfaces, which mimic some physical-chemical properties of biological membranes. These model systems, generally refered to as supported membranes, allow systematic model experiments for developing a quantitative understanding of structure-dynamics-function relations in biological membranes as well as in the design of bioanalytical tools and devices. This talk will present recent experimental evidence from our laboratory, which highlight the importance of substrate structure (e.g., topography, charge, and surface energies) and membrane-substrate interface in influencing the structure and properties of single lipid membranes and their equilibrium morphologies. These results also suggest new experimental approaches to engineer structural and chemical heterogeneities, curvatures, and rectified lateral dynamics in supported membranes. |
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