Nanotech Blogs and Articles

Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals Nanoscopic Raft Dynamics on Cell Membranes

Scientists at National Taiwan University combined atomic force microscopy with a Hadamard product‑based image reconstruction algorithm to directly visualize membrane raft dynamics on live cells for the first time. The study captured the formation, fusion, and dissolution of nanoscopic rafts ranging from 10 to 200 nm in diameter, confirming their liquid‑ordered composition with C‑Laurdan dyes and integrin co‑localization. Published in Science Advances, the work demonstrates that these lipid domains are highly dynamic and interact with proteins and the cytoskeleton. The authors propose the technique as a rapid screening tool for drug discovery targeting membrane processes.