Abstract
Small–angle neutron scattering (SANS) is a technique used for sub–micron scale structural analysis of soft matters and biomacromolecules, but it can also be used to evaluate dynamics by taking advantage of the large difference in scattering length between hydrogen and deuterium. The author’s group has successfully used time–resolved SANS to measure the rates of phospholipid transfer between vesicles and flip–flop in vesicle membranes for the first time and has elucidated the differences in these rates among different phospholipids. In addition, measurements with lipid–transfer proteins revealed their lipid–transfer mechanism and the importance of their ability to bind two different types of lipids in carrying out the exchange of these lipids across the membrane along a concentration gradient. This review will present the details and applications of this method.
