Physical interactions between engineered nanoparticles and lipid biomembranes play a role in determining how nanoparticles bind to cells and alter structure and function. While direct cell studies are insightful, it is difficult to quantify interaction mechanisms and membrane restructuring. To address this, our group employs lipid bilayer vesicles (liposomes) as model membranes to elucidate nanoparticle-biomembrane interactions and to determine how these interactions affect nanoparticle binding, liposome aggregation and fusion, and membrane phase behavior and permeability. This presentation will focus on the binding of commercially and environmentally relevant inorganic hydrophilic nanoparticles (e.g. iron oxide, gold, silver, and graphene oxide) to homogeneous and heterogeneous biomembranes composed of lipids found in bacterial membranes. Connections will be made between local lipid restructuring and global changes in membrane structure to demonstrate that low nanoparticle binding concentrations can have persistent effects on membranes.

Nanoparticle restructuring of homogeneous and heterogeneous biomembranes

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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