This book highlights recent advances in and diverse techniques for exploring the plasma membrane's structure and function. It starts with two chapters reviewing the history of membrane research and listing recent advances regarding membrane structure, such as the semi-mosaic model for red blood cell membranes and the protein layer-lipid-protein island model for nucleated tissue cell membranes. It subsequently focuses on the localization and interactions of membrane components, dynamic processes of membrane transport and transmembrane signal transduction. Classic and cutting-edge techniques (e.g. high-resolution atomic force microscopy and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy) used in biophysics and chemistry are presented in a very comprehensive manner, making them useful and accessible to both researchers in the field and novices studying cell membranes. This book provides readers a deeper understanding of the plasma membrane's organization at the single molecule level and opens a new way to reveal the relationship between the membrane's structure and functions, making it essential reading for researchers in various fields.

The membrane is a highly elaborate structure that undertakes many important biological activities, including material transport, signal transduction, energy transfer, and enzymatic reaction. The abnormal expression and distribution of some membrane proteins are even related to genetic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and malignant tumors. Although the importance of membranes has been widely recognized, there is still a lack of comprehensive and systematic research on membranes like genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc. Moreover, the broad sense of biomembrane is not limited to the plasma membrane only as organelle membranes and endocytosis or exocytosis vesicle membranes are also derived from the biomembrane system. This book introduces the concept of ‘omics’ into membranes and proposes the term ‘biomembranomics.’ It brings together the latest developments in structural analysis techniques of biomembranes, including single-molecule manipulation techniques, single-molecule fluorescence techniques, super-resolution fluorescence imaging, cryo-electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, molecular dynamics simulation, and hyphenated instrumental techniques. The book presents classic and cutting-edge protocols in text as well as illustrations, which will serve as relevant and useful reference material. It provides a deep understanding of biomembrane organization at single-molecule level, opening new ways for revealing the relationship between the membrane structure and its functions. The book is therefore an essential reading for researchers in all related fields.

This book highlights recent advances in and diverse techniques for exploring the plasma membrane's structure and function. It starts with two chapters reviewing the history of membrane research and listing recent advances regarding membrane structure, such as the semi-mosaic model for red blood cell membranes and the protein layer-lipid-protein island model for nucleated tissue cell membranes. It subsequently focuses on the localization and interactions of membrane components, dynamic processes of membrane transport and transmembrane signal transduction. Classic and cutting-edge techniques (e.g. high-resolution atomic force microscopy and super-resolution fluorescence microscopy) used in biophysics and chemistry are presented in a very comprehensive manner, making them useful and accessible to both researchers in the field and novices studying cell membranes. This book provides readers a deeper understanding of the plasma membrane's organization at the single molecule level and opens a new way to reveal the relationship between the membrane's structure and functions, making it essential reading for researchers in various fields.