Atomic force microscopy of electrospun organic-inorganic lipid nanofibers

Abstract

An organic-inorganic hybridization strategy has been proposed to synthesize polymerizable lipid-based materials for the creation of highly stable lipid-mimetic nanostructures. We employ atomic force microscopy (AFM) to analyze the surface morphology and mechanical property of electrospun cholesteryl-succinyl silane (CSS) nanofibers. The AFM nanoindentation of the CSS nanofibers reveals elastic moduli of 55.3±27.6 to 70.8±35 MPa, which is significantly higher than the moduli of natural phospholipids and cholesterols. The study shows that organic-inorganic hybridization is useful in the design of highly stable lipid-based materials. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.