Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of supported bilayer membranes

COLL 237

David Dunmire, Kimberly A. Briggman, and Angela R. Hight Walker. Optical Technology Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20889
Hybrid bilayer membranes (HBMs), consisting of a lipid monolayer atop a thiolipid monolayer self-assembled onto a metal-coated, nanostructured surface, are characterized via in situ Raman spectroscopy. The HBM provides a useful mimic for studying the structure and function of cell membranes and their constituents. The nanostructured support enhances the Raman scattering cross-section enabling the acquisition of in situ Raman signal from the HBM as a complement to in situ infrared vibrational spectroscopic studies. The structures of a variety of supported lipid bilayers on metallic nanostructures will be presented. These HBMs also permit the incorporation and orientation of membrane polypeptides, such as gramicidin, for structural studies.