Building artificial cell membranes with Dr. Samar Damiati
The Intelligent Infusions Recap
It's time again for an Intelligent Infusions Recap. The month of August brought us an exciting lecture by Dr. Samar Damiati. She is an associate professor at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and studies topics such as synthetic bioarchitecture, nanobiotechnology, biosensors, and microfluidics.
To put it more precisely, Damiati's research revolves around bottom-up synthetic biology to construct artificial cell membranes that mimic the features and behaviors of biological ones. Currently, she uses microfluidic technology to construct artificial cell models and drug delivery systems.
The total number of known human protein-coding genes has always fluctuated slightly, but in recent years it has been hovering around 20.000 genes. A third of these proteins are membrane-bound or secreted proteins. Hence, it is always surprising to discover that although 60% of all drug molecules target membrane proteins, only a very small fraction of them are structurally known. Damiati's exploration of synthetic lipid membranes, to gain new structural and functional insights into membrane proteins, therefore seems all the more relevant.
In her masterclass, she presented two methods for creating biomimetic model membranes: Bottom-Up Synthetic Biology (Cushion Supported Lipid Membranes), and the use of lipid vesicles in the form of nanodiscs. For her first approach, she presented, among other things, a detailed workflow starting from the design of the primers of her genetic template, to the combination of all relevant components of the cell extract, to the incorporation of a membrane protein in the form of VDAC (voltage-dependent anion channel). Her second approach is particularly impressive due to the use of so-called membrane scaffold proteins. These allow the reconstitution of membrane proteins such as GPCRs or transporters in an artificial environment resembling the native membrane.
Are you also interested in Dr. Damiati's findings and what discussions have unfolded following this masterclass? Then just click on the button "Livestream" for the possibility of watching everything again at any time.
To put it more precisely, Damiati's research revolves around bottom-up synthetic biology to construct artificial cell membranes that mimic the features and behaviors of biological ones. Currently, she uses microfluidic technology to construct artificial cell models and drug delivery systems.
The total number of known human protein-coding genes has always fluctuated slightly, but in recent years it has been hovering around 20.000 genes. A third of these proteins are membrane-bound or secreted proteins. Hence, it is always surprising to discover that although 60% of all drug molecules target membrane proteins, only a very small fraction of them are structurally known. Damiati's exploration of synthetic lipid membranes, to gain new structural and functional insights into membrane proteins, therefore seems all the more relevant.
In her masterclass, she presented two methods for creating biomimetic model membranes: Bottom-Up Synthetic Biology (Cushion Supported Lipid Membranes), and the use of lipid vesicles in the form of nanodiscs. For her first approach, she presented, among other things, a detailed workflow starting from the design of the primers of her genetic template, to the combination of all relevant components of the cell extract, to the incorporation of a membrane protein in the form of VDAC (voltage-dependent anion channel). Her second approach is particularly impressive due to the use of so-called membrane scaffold proteins. These allow the reconstitution of membrane proteins such as GPCRs or transporters in an artificial environment resembling the native membrane.
Are you also interested in Dr. Damiati's findings and what discussions have unfolded following this masterclass? Then just click on the button "Livestream" for the possibility of watching everything again at any time.
DR. SAMAR DAMIATI
Department of Chemistry, University of Sharjah, U.A.E.
NanobiotechnologyBuilding an artificial cell membrane from scratch
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Bottom-up synthetic biology allows us to use the basic elements (non-living components) of biological origins to construct artificial life de novo
- Biomimetic membranes can be constructed using easily generated system composed of proteins and lipids to form vesicles, mono- or bilayer membranes
- Lipid membrane-based biosensors can be developed and characterized as acoustic biosensors for cell mimicry which enable in vitro investigation of biomolecular interactions
- Using cell-free protein expression system allows production of rightly folded membrane proteins from exogeneous mRNA or DNA, which can be directly incorporated into artificial cell models
HER RESEARCH
Damiatis research is focused on bottom-up synthetic biology to construct artificial cell membranes that mimic the features and behavior of biological ones. Currently, she uses microfluidic technology to construct artificial cell models and drug delivery systems.
RECENT PUBLICATION: Albumin-bound nanodiscs as delivery vehicle candidates: Development and characterization
KEYWORDS: Synthetic bioarchitectures; Nanoparticles; Drug delivery; Nanomedicine
KEYWORDS: Synthetic bioarchitectures; Nanoparticles; Drug delivery; Nanomedicine
Upcoming session
Our next session features Dr. Kirill Nadezhdin from the Columbia University Irving Medical Center of New York. He will be talking about synthetic bioarchitectures and nanobiotechnology, as well as artificial cell membranes and how to build them up from scratch. Register now if you are interested in learning more about his work and the research of the Irving Medical Center at the University of Columbia.