LAUSR

The distribution of lipids and proteins within the plasma membranes of living cells appears to be heterogeneous on short time and length scales. In model membranes containing ternary or quaternary mixtures of lipids, the presence of submicron domains has been inferred by indirect methods such as FRET, neutron diffraction, and NMR. In cases when the indirect methods rely on model-dependent assumptions, it is ideal to verify the results through direct microscopy. However, direct imaging of submicron membrane domains presents significant experimental challenges.