Spectroscopic infrared near-field microscopy and x-ray reflectivity studies of order and clustering in lipid membranes

Lipid membranes were studied by infrared scanning near-field optical microscopy at several wavelengths and by x-ray reflectivity. Together with the x-ray data, the optical images indicate the formation of locally ordered multiple bilayers, and the topographical micrographs reveal the presence of islands at the surface, both critically important features for biotechnology and medical applications such as biosensors and gene therapy.