Synthesis and Functional Reconstitution of Light-Harvesting Complex II into Polymeric Membrane Architectures.

One of most important processes in nature is the harvesting and dissipation of solar energy with the help of light-harvesting complex II (LHCII). This protein, along with its associated pigments, is the main solar-energy collector in higher plants. We aimed to generate stable, highly controllable, and sustainable polymer-based membrane systems containing LHCII-pigment complexes ready for light harvesting.

Nanoscopic leg irons: harvesting of polymer-stabilized membrane proteins with antibody-functionalized silica nanoparticles.

Silica-based nanoparticles (SiNPs) are presented to harvest complex membrane proteins, which have been embedded into unilammelar polymersomes via in vitro membrane assisted protein synthesis (iMAP). Size-optimized SiNPs have been surface-modified with polymer-targeting antibodies, which are employed to harvest the protein-containing polymersomes. The polymersomes mimic the cellular membrane.

Functional Cell Adhesion Receptors (Integrins) in Polymeric Architectures.

Integrins, as transmembrane heterodimeric receptors, have important functions in cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, survival apoptosis and signal transduction, in many physio- as well as pathophysiological settings. Characterisation of integrins and their ligand/antagonist binding is notoriously difficult, due to high integrin redundancy and ubiquity. Bypassing the intrinsic difficulties of cell-based integrin expression, purification and reconstitution, we present for the first time the synthesis of a heterodimeric integrin receptor and its assembly into a block-copolymeric membrane mimic.

Proteopolymersomes: in vitro production of a membrane protein in polymersome membranes.

Polymersomes are stable self-assembled architectures which mimic cell membranes. For characterization, membrane proteins can be incorporated into such bio-mimetic membranes by reconstitution methods, leading to so-called proteopolymersomes. In this work, we demonstrate the direct incorporation of a membrane protein into polymersome membranes by a cell-free expression system.

In-situ measurement of cellular microenvironments in a microfluidic device.

We report on the integration of optical microsensors into a cell culture microchannel device. We demonstrate the possibility of measuring the glucose and oxygen concentrations in the microenvironment of the mammalian cells cultured in a microchannel device. Furthermore, cell proliferation and morphology could be monitored microscopically while these measurements were being made.

Thermally responsive core-shell nanoparticles self-assembled from cholesteryl end-capped and grafted polyacrylamides:; drug incorporation and in vitro release.

The thermally responsive cholesteryl end-capped poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N,N-dimethylacrylamide) and cholesteryl grafted poly[N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-(hydroxymethyl) acrylamide] amphiphilic polymers were synthesized and utilized to encapsulate cyclosporin A (CyA) and indomethacin (IND) within core-shell nanoparticles by a membrane dialysis method. The blank and drug-loaded nanoparticles were characterized using various analytical tools. The blank nanoparticles had a mean diameter less than 100 nm, whereas the drug-loaded nanoparticles were between 100 and 200 nm in diameter.

Design of physostigmine-loaded polymeric microparticles for pretreatment against exposure to organophosphate agents.

Physostigmine is an anti-cholinesterase used for the pretreatment of a poisoning caused by highly toxic organophosphorus neurotoxins. The aim of this study is to design a polymeric microparticle system for sustained release of physostigmine. In this paper, we have attempted to encapsulate physostigmine in microparticles made from poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) with various contents of glycolide and poly(D,L-lactide) (PLA) using spray-drying and single emulsion techniques.