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Vesicle and Membrane Biophysical Chemistry Department of Chemistry, GWU
Research Instrumentation Publications The cell membrane is a complex assortment of actors. Also, as the gateway and guardian to the interior cell, it accommodates ever changing physical and chemical environments. The lipids and cholesterol components form a fluid matrix for the various transmembrane proteins and receptors to inhabit. The relationship between the lipid bilayer and membrane proteins is not well-understood even ~35 years after Singer and Nicolson first described the structure. (1) Lipid organization in rafts, clusters or nano-domains, or lack there of, is the subject of constant debate with many competing theories.(2-8) We pursue several strategies to understand membrane behavior. First, we explore lipid dynamics between fluid-ordered and fluid-disordered phases. Meta-stable phase configurations arise near miscibility points in the phase diagram. We have also observed meta-stability when we cross-link lipids (collaborators, F. Baginiski and X. Ren, Mathematics). Second, we have begun analyzing membrane behavior when additives intercalate in the vesicle, mapping phase shifts as a function of additive concentration.
1. S. J. Singer, G. L. Nicolson, Science 175, 720 (1972). |