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Can We Rebuild the Cell Membrane?

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Biological, Physical and Technical Basics of Cell Engineering

Abstract

Biomimetic artificial membranes are convenient, versatile models that borrow from the principles of biological systems and mimic the physiological characteristics of natural cell membranes by exploiting simple nanostructured materials. To construct an artificial membrane, it is important to first understand the biology of natural membranes and to recognize the primary differences between the cellular membranes of different organisms. The creation of biomimetic membranes can be achieved with a minimal number of living or non-living components while sufficiently retaining the basic properties of cellular life. The successful development of biomimetic membranes promotes an understanding of basic cellular functions and assists in the generation of semi-natural systems with new functions, the fabrication of selective and sensitive biosensing platforms, and the development of new biotechnology in different fields ranging from medicine to the environment. This chapter presents the most common model biomimetic membranes that are currently available and their applications, as well as their preparation methods, general investigation techniques, properties, and limitations.

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Abbreviations

3D:

Three-dimensional

AFM:

Atomic Force Microscopy

BLM:

Black Lipid Membrane

CL:

Cardiolipin

EIS:

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

GUVs:

Giant Unilamellar Vesicles

hBLM:

Hybrid Bilayer Lipid Membrane

HDL:

High-Density Lipoprotein

LB:

Langmuir-Blodgett

LS:

Langmuir-Schaefer

LTA:

Lipoteichoic Acids

LUVs:

Large Unilamellar Vesicles

MLVs:

Multilamellar Lipid Vesicles

MSP:

Membrane Scaffolding Protein

PC:

Phosphatidylcholine

PE:

Phosphatidylethanolamine

PG:

Phosphatidylglycerol

PI:

Phosphatidylinositol

PS:

Phosphatidylserine

QCM-D:

Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation monitoring

S-layer:

Surface-layer

SAM:

Self-Assembling Monolayer

sLBM:

Supported Lipid Bilayer Membrane

SM:

Sphingomyelin

SsLBM:

S-layer-supported Lipid Bilayer Membrane

SUVs:

Small Unilamellar Vesicles

tBLM:

Tethered Bilayer Lipid Membrane

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Samar Damiati

  2. Institute for Synthetic Bioarchitectures, Department of Nanobiotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria

    Samar Damiati

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Neurophysiology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Gerhard M. Artmann

  2. Institute for Bioengineering, Medical and Molecular Biology, University of Applied Sciences, Aachen, Campus Jülich, Germany

    Aysegül Artmann

  3. Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Kazakhstan National Academy of Natural Sciences, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

    Azhar A. Zhubanova

  4. Institute for Bioengineering, Cell- and Microbiology, University of Applied Sciences, Aachen, Campus Jülich, Germany

    Ilya Digel

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Damiati, S. (2018). Can We Rebuild the Cell Membrane?. In: Artmann, G., Artmann, A., Zhubanova, A., Digel, I. (eds) Biological, Physical and Technical Basics of Cell Engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7904-7_1

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