The Interactions of Blood Components with Models of the Gram Negative Bacterial Surface

One of the major challenges in the fight against antimicrobial resistance is the development of antimicrobial compounds that selectively disrupt bacterial membranes and leave endothelial membranes untouched. A major limitation is the lack of understanding in how novel medicines interact with blood serum components in the presence of either bacterial or endothelial cellular membranes. For example, we have previously found that serum proteins bind to a large extent to lipid bilayers composed predominantly of phosphatidylcholine lipids (PC), but the incorporation of glycolipids (PI) inhibited protein binding. In this proposal, we will study precisely how the lipid composition affect not only the binding of serum proteins but also the lipid composition and structure of supported lipid bilayers that mimic bacterial and mammalian membranes. Netron reflection is the best technique to apply.