<br/>The Langmuir monolayer technique is an established technique for modeling cellular membranes and analyzing surface properties at the air-water interface through compression analysis. In this research, Langmuir monolayers are being used to investigate the different molecular conformations of insulin, monomeric and hexameric. Divalent metal cations, such as Zn<sup>2+</sup>, were added to the water subphase to determine if the hexameric form of insulin can be induced. Additionally, chelating agents, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) were added to effectively remove the zinc ion from the solution and observe the behavior of the insulin molecules. Since diabetic patients inject insulin subcutaneously, insulin’s interactions with common lipids found in the cell membrane such as dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) were also studied since interactions between insulin and these lipids could result in a less effective does of insulin due to a conformation change. The structure of insulin monolayers was also analyzed using an in-house built Brewster Angle Microscope (BAM). Although a variety of surface characteristics can be determined from the compression analysis, it is advantageous to implement imaging systems into the Langmuir trough design to allow for simultaneous imaging of the film.

Langmuir monolayers and Brewster angle microscopy for the analysis of the molecular conformations of insulin

2019 Spring National Meeting

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