Drug-membrane interactions play a crucial role in the pharmacology and biological activity of drugs.  The equilibrium of a drug molecule between plasma and the cellular membrane has historically been modeled by bulk phase partitioning, usually between water and 1-octanol. On a fundamental level, the thermodynamics of a lipid membrane, which is comprised of a bilayer of lipids ~50� thick, cannot adequately be modeled by the bulk thermodynamic properties of a homogenous liquid phase. The measurement of drug association to lipid membranes has conventionally been measured by fluorescence and other spectroscopic methods.   However, a main disadvantage of fluorescence labeling of drugs is that the introduction of fluorophores will change the molecules physical properties, such as charge, hydrophobic or hydrophilic character and structure.  To circumvent these problems, we have developed a novel from of second-harmonic (SH) microscopy in conjunction with 2-D lipid bilayer arrays for the high-throughput, ultra-sensitive and label-free detection of small-molecule drug association to lipid membranes.

Detection of drug-membrane interactions via surface second harmonic imaging

244th National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.