Lipid membranes in nanoscale
Lipidomics Gateway (24 February 2010) [doi:10.1038/lipidmaps.2010.6]
The Lundbeck Foundation in Denmark has just launched a US$7 million Centre for Biomembranes in Nanomedicine (CBN) that will operate until 2015.
The aim of the centre is 'to employ novel nanoscale technologies to investigate critical protein–membrane and membrane–membrane interactions controlling signal transmission across biological membranes.'
Initially, researchers will gather detailed quantitative information about the nanoscale properties of membranes that determine localization and activity of membrane proteins, including curvature and spatial composition.
A deeper understanding of nanoscale membrane organization will enable the development of novel assays and biosensors, with a focus on membrane receptors and transporters involved in neurological diseases.
The CBN will also investigate membrane scission and fusion events during vesicular transport. These are involved in neurosynaptic transmission, implicated in neurological and endocrine disorders, and in cell–cell signaling in infectious disease.
More information including current job vacancies can be found at the CBN website.
