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Membrane
Nano-Fragment
Dr. Gregory
Zeltser,
Mr. Gordon E.
Drew, Business Official, gdrew@poc.com
DOE Grant No.
DE-FG02-05ER84293
Amount: $99,988
Understanding
the mechanisms within microbial cells is vital to Department of Energy programs
for energy production, bioremediation, carbon sequestration, and encouragement
of cleaner industrial processes. Many of
the signal transducers and molecular machines of the living cell are membrane
proteins, which are therefore important pharmaceutical targets. However, no simple and reproducible procedure
has been reported for isolating these proteins in a monodispersed form that
maintains the phospholipid-protein native structure and functionality. This project will develop technology to study
membrane proteins intact, rather than dissolved. The technology will be based on precise
control of molecular interactions to carve out nanofragments of innate membrane
that supports a membrane protein, without disturbing the lipid bilayer. In Phase I a laboratory prototype of membrane
nanofragment preparation technology will be designed, fabricated, and tested to
demonstrate the feasibility of the approach for solubilizing membrane proteins.
Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The preparation of the nanofragments should enable researchers to study the structure and function of this important class of biological macromolecules. Furthermore, the ability to bind substrates, inhibitors, and other interacting molecules with these solubilized membrane proteins in their original environment has significant potential for development of high-throughput screening methods for pharmacological target proteins.