Figure 3
AFM indentation experiments reveal leaflet penetration of HDL particles. Experiments were performed on mica-supported DOPC bilayers using bare silicon tips (black) or HDL-coated tips (green). Representative approach curves are shown upon contact with the bilayer. Elastic bilayer deformation below the breakthrough force Fp was fitted with Eq. 1 (red). The intersection with the x-axis gives the thickness of the penetrated membrane layer (dashed lines), yielding 5.2 ± 0.8 nm (uncoated tips) and 2.0 ± 0.4 nm (HDL-coated tips). See also Fig. S3.
