Characterisation of membrane mimetics by Dual polarization interferometry (DPI) (CAT#: STEM-MB-0410-WXH)

Name: Characterisation of membrane mimetics by Dual polarization interferometry (DPI)
SKU: STEM-MB-0410-WXH
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Introduction

Lipid membranes are a fundamental component of the cell, acting as a barrier between the internal and external environments and also compartmentalising internal environments such as the Golgi complex, nucleus and endoplasmic reticulum, thus maintaining the specific functionalities of these organelles.
Membrane mimetics allow the membrane environment to be probed at a tractable and defined level of molecular complexity. These model systems have been used widely as a means of studying the physiology and function of lipid membranes.

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Principle Applications Procedure Materials

Principle

Dual polarization interferometry (DPI) is an analytical technique that allows the simultaneous determination of thickness, density, and mass of a biological layer on a sensing waveguide surface in real time. DPI focuses laser light into two waveguides. One of these functions as the "sensing" waveguide having an exposed surface while the second one functions to maintain a reference beam. A two-dimensional interference pattern is formed in the far field by combining the light passing through the two waveguides. The DPI technique rotates the polarization of the laser, to alternately excite two polarization modes of the waveguides. Measurement of the interferogram for both polarizations allows both the refractive index and the thickness of the adsorbed layer to be calculated. These measurements can be used to infer conformational information about the molecular interactions taking place, as the molecule size (from the layer thickness) and the fold density (from the RI) change.

Applications

Characterisation of membrane mimetics.
Study of the structure and features of lipid membranes.
Drug Discovery.

Procedure

1. Setting of dual polarization interferometry
2. Preparing the DPI sensor chip
3. Formation of a fatty acid monolayer on an amine
modified sensor chip surface
4. Production of hybrid bilayer membranes (HBM)
5. The chip is inserted into the
instrument and the fluidic system is started
6. Result analysis