Curvature induced lipid phase separation studied with GISANS

Semiconductor nanowires are increasingly being used in life science to interface with cells. The first point of contact for a cell with a high aspect ratio nanowire is the cell membrane. The interaction between the cell membrane and the nanowires are not fully understood and with this proposal we will try to reveal the structure and composition of a three component lipid bilayer system covering Si nanowires. The lipid bilayer on the nanowires will function as a curved model membrane and will consist of a mixture of DOPC, brain spinghomyelin and cholesterol, which are know to form lipid rafts. This type of phase separation occurs naturally in a cell and can affect membrane fluidity. We will use the lipid mixture on Si nanowires as a simplified model system to study curvature induced phase separation of the lipids.