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Encyclopedia of Biophysics pp 1–4Cite as

Electron Microscopy of Membrane Lipids

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Synonyms

Lipids; Membrane lipids

Definition

Electron microscopy is a method for examining materials using an electron microscope. Electron microscopes use electrons instead of light, which requires that the objects under study be placed in a high vacuum.

Membrane lipids are lipid molecules that are major structural components of biological membranes. They include glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, and cholesterol (or ergosterol in plants).

Basic Characteristics

A lipid bilayer forms the basic structure of most biological membranes. The lipids in the membrane generally consist of phospholipids, sphingolipids, and cholesterol (or ergosterol in plants). The membrane exhibits a two-dimensional fluidity at ambient temperature, meaning that molecules diffuse laterally in the membrane plane. The distance that a molecule can diffuse in a certain time t can be calculated by the equation, d 2 = 4kt (where d is the distance and kis a diffusion coefficient). The diffusion coefficient for...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Molecular Cell Biology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

    Toyoshi Fujimoto

  2. Department of Brain Structure and Function, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Yoshida-gun, Fukui, Japan

    Yugo Fukazawa

Authors
  1. Toyoshi Fujimoto
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  2. Yugo Fukazawa
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Toyoshi Fujimoto .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University Leicester MRC Centre, Leicester, United Kingdom

    Gordon Roberts

  2. Dept Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

    Anthony Watts

Section Editor information

  1. Membrane Biophysics Platform, Department of Chemistry and Institute of Chemical Biology, Imperial College London, London, UK

    John M. Seddon

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© 2018 European Biophysical Societies' Association (EBSA)

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Fujimoto, T., Fukazawa, Y. (2018). Electron Microscopy of Membrane Lipids. In: Roberts, G., Watts, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Biophysics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35943-9_564-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35943-9_564-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-35943-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35943-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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