Identifier: TDX:1052
Authors:
Pogodin, Sergey
Abstract:
Biological cells, elementary building blocks of the live matter, are presented in large amounts on our planet, and they are extremely important for us, because all we are made of them. An essential component of every cell is the cell membrane, protecting the cell from the environment and also controlling the transport of chemicals between the interior and exterior of the cell. When an extraneous nano-object approaches the cell membrane, important questions about their destiny arise naturally. Will be the nano-object able to pass through the membrane, or will the membrane stop it? Will the nano-object severely damage the membrane machinery, causing the cell death, or not? One can image numerous practical applications of specific interactions possible between a nano-object and the membrane. They may be used, for example, to deliver a necessary medicine inside a deceased cell, or to kill some specific harmful cells by destruction of their membranes or by suppression of their proper functioning. The questions outlined above are hard to answer at the present day, both using experimental or theoretical methods. The major difficulty is the complex structure of the cell membrane, consisting of lipid bilayer, with numerous proteins embed into it and anchored to it. The lipid basement of the membrane is formed by mixture of phospholipids, glycolipids, cholesterol, and the phospholipids are the major compound of the bilayer. Thus a pure phospholipid bilayer can be considered as a model of a real cell membrane both in experimental and theoretical studies. It can be used to estimate mechanical properties of the biological membrane, its permeability for different chemicals and nano-objects, to study its interaction with single proteins.
Repositori URV