| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/R95746/01 |
| Title: |
Cell Membrane Mechanics: Theory and Experiments Using Optical Tweezers. |
| Principal Investigator: |
Parker, Professor Emeritus KH |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Bioengineering |
| Organisation: |
Imperial College London |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
02 April 2003 |
Ends: |
01 April 2006 |
Value (£): |
149,534
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Cells |
Materials testing & eng. |
| Medical science & disease |
Tissue Engineering |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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The project is based on our earlier work, showing that the optical tweezers technique affords a means of determining the mechanical characteristics of cell membranes, which are known to control many physiological processes. Improved experimental methods will be allied to new theoretical anlyses. We expect to resolve the ambiguities inherent in the results of investigations by earlier, conventional methods and to obtain a far more explicit description of the unique mechanical properties of especially the red blood cell membrane. We will also study the emergence of elastic properties whey integral and peripheral red blood cell proteins are incorporated into lipid bilayer vesicles. We will examine membranes from subjects with hereditary protein defects, leading to both reduced and greatly increased membrane stiffness (with varying pathological consequences). We shall apply our experimental and theoretical methods to cells of other, more general types. We shall examine, in particular, vascular endothelial cells, which have excess membrane area and in which membrane tension is induced and apparently regulated by the cytoskeleton. We shall try to clarify the relation between membrane tension (which can be manipulated by altering osmotic pressure and by perturbation of the cytoskeleton by specific ligands) and th elastic and viscoelastic properties of the membrane.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.imperial.ac.uk |