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Dolder N, Müller P, von Ballmoos C. Experimental platform for the functional investigation of membrane proteins in giant unilamellar vesicles. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:5877-5893. [PMID: 35916307 PMCID: PMC9364335 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00551d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) are micrometer-sized model membrane systems that can be viewed directly under the microscope. They serve as scaffolds for the bottom-up creation of synthetic cells, targeted drug delivery and have been widely used to study membrane related phenomena in vitro. GUVs are also of interest for the functional investigation of membrane proteins that carry out many key cellular functions. A major hurdle to a wider application of GUVs in this field is the diversity of existing protocols that are optimized for individual proteins. Here, we compare PVA assisted and electroformation techniques for GUV formation under physiologically relevant conditions, and analyze the effect of immobilization on vesicle structure and membrane tightness towards small substrates and protons. There, differences in terms of yield, size, and leakage of GUVs produced by PVA assisted swelling and electroformation were found, dependent on salt and buffer composition. Using fusion of oppositely charged membranes to reconstitute a model membrane protein, we find that empty vesicles and proteoliposomes show similar fusion behavior, which allows for a rapid estimation of protein incorporation using fluorescent lipids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Dolder
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Philipp Müller
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Christoph von Ballmoos
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland.
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2
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Gözen I, Köksal ES, Põldsalu I, Xue L, Spustova K, Pedrueza-Villalmanzo E, Ryskulov R, Meng F, Jesorka A. Protocells: Milestones and Recent Advances. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2106624. [PMID: 35322554 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202106624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 02/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The origin of life is still one of humankind's great mysteries. At the transition between nonliving and living matter, protocells, initially featureless aggregates of abiotic matter, gain the structure and functions necessary to fulfill the criteria of life. Research addressing protocells as a central element in this transition is diverse and increasingly interdisciplinary. The authors review current protocell concepts and research directions, address milestones, challenges and existing hypotheses in the context of conditions on the early Earth, and provide a concise overview of current protocell research methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irep Gözen
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0318, Norway
| | - Elif Senem Köksal
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0318, Norway
| | - Inga Põldsalu
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0318, Norway
| | - Lin Xue
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0318, Norway
| | - Karolina Spustova
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, 0318, Norway
| | - Esteban Pedrueza-Villalmanzo
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, SE-412 96, Sweden
- Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, Universitetsplatsen 1, Gothenburg, 40530, Sweden
| | - Ruslan Ryskulov
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, SE-412 96, Sweden
| | - Fanda Meng
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, SE-412 96, Sweden
- School of Basic Medicine, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 250000, China
| | - Aldo Jesorka
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Göteborg, SE-412 96, Sweden
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3
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Jiang L, Wang Q, Lei J, Tao K, Huang J, Zhao S, Hu N, Yang J. Mechanism study of how lipid vesicle electroformation is suppressed by the presence of sodium chloride. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2021; 206:111951. [PMID: 34243032 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.111951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2021] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/26/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Giant lipid vesicles (GLVs) are usually adopted as models of cell membranes and electroformation is the most commonly used method for GLV formation. However, GLV electroformation are known to be suppressed by the presence of salt and the mechanism is not clear so far. In this paper, the lipid hydration and GLV electroformation were investigated as a function of the concentration of sodium chloride by depositing the lipids on the bottom substrates and top substrates. In addition, the electrohydrodynamic force generated by the electroosmotic flow (EOF) on the lipid phase was calculated with COMSOL Multiphysics. It was found that the mechanisms for the failure of GLV electroformation in salt solutions are: 1) the presence of sodium chloride decreases the membrane permeability to aqueous solution by accelerating the formation of well-packed membranes, suppressing the swelling and detachment of the lipid membranes; 2) the presence of sodium chloride decreased the electrohydrodynamic force by increasing the medium conductivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihua Jiang
- Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Intelligent Rehabilitation and Eldercare, Chongqing City Management College, Chongqing 400055, China
| | - Qiong Wang
- Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Intelligent Rehabilitation and Eldercare, Chongqing City Management College, Chongqing 400055, China; Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Bioengineering College, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
| | - Jincan Lei
- Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Intelligent Rehabilitation and Eldercare, Chongqing City Management College, Chongqing 400055, China
| | - Ke Tao
- Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Intelligent Rehabilitation and Eldercare, Chongqing City Management College, Chongqing 400055, China
| | - Jing Huang
- Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Intelligent Rehabilitation and Eldercare, Chongqing City Management College, Chongqing 400055, China
| | - Shixian Zhao
- Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center of Intelligent Rehabilitation and Eldercare, Chongqing City Management College, Chongqing 400055, China
| | - Ning Hu
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Bioengineering College, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China
| | - Jun Yang
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Bioengineering College, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
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4
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Wang X, Du H, Wang Z, Mu W, Han X. Versatile Phospholipid Assemblies for Functional Synthetic Cells and Artificial Tissues. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2021; 33:e2002635. [PMID: 32830387 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202002635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The bottom-up construction of a synthetic cell from nonliving building blocks capable of mimicking cellular properties and behaviors helps to understand the particular biophysical properties and working mechanisms of a cell. A synthetic cell built in this way possesses defined chemical composition and structure. Since phospholipids are native biomembrane components, their assemblies are widely used to mimic cellular structures. Here, recent developments in the formation of versatile phospholipid assemblies are described, together with the applications of these assemblies for functional membranes (protein reconstituted giant unilamellar vesicles), spherical and nonspherical protoorganelles, and functional synthetic cells, as well as the high-order hierarchical structures of artificial tissues. Their biomedical applications are also briefly summarized. Finally, the challenges and future directions in the field of synthetic cells and artificial tissues based on phospholipid assemblies are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuejing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Hang Du
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
- Marine Antifouling Engineering Technology Center of Shangdong Province, Harbin Institute of Technology, Weihai, 264209, China
| | - Zhao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Wei Mu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
| | - Xiaojun Han
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China
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Leonov DV, Dzuba SA, Surovtsev NV. Membrane-Sugar Interactions Probed by Low-Frequency Raman Spectroscopy: The Monolayer Adsorption Model. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2020; 36:11655-11660. [PMID: 32975956 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c02458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Small sugars are known to stabilize biological membranes under extreme conditions of freezing and desiccation. The proposed mechanisms of stabilization suggest membrane-sugar interactions to be either attractive or repulsive. To obtain new insight into the problem, we use a recently developed low-frequency Raman scattering approach which allows detecting membrane mechanical vibrations. For model membranes of palmitoyl-oleoyl-glycero-phosphocholine (POPC) hydrated in aqueous sucrose and trehalose solutions, we studied the Raman peak between 12 and 15 cm-1 that is attributed to an eigenmode of the normal mechanical vibrations of a lipid monolayer. For both sugars, similar results were obtained. With an increase in sugar concentration in solution, the frequency position of the peak was found to decrease by ∼13% which was interpreted as a consequence of the membrane thickening due sugar monolayer adsorption on the membrane surface. The concentration dependence of the peak frequency position was satisfactorily described by a Langmuir monolayer adsorption model. It is concluded that, at small sugar concentrations (less than 0.2 M), the membrane-sugar interactions are attractive, while at higher concentrations (more than 0.4 M) the attraction disappears. The data obtained show that one sugar molecule on the surface interacts with approximately 3-4 polar lipid heads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry V Leonov
- Department of Physics, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Sergei A Dzuba
- Department of Physics, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
- Institute of Chemical Kinetics and Combustion, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - Nikolay V Surovtsev
- Department of Physics, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
- Institute of Automation and Electrometry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
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6
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Khlyustova A, Cheng Y, Yang R. Vapor-deposited functional polymer thin films in biological applications. J Mater Chem B 2020; 8:6588-6609. [PMID: 32756662 PMCID: PMC7429282 DOI: 10.1039/d0tb00681e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Functional polymer coatings have become ubiquitous in biological applications, ranging from biomaterials and drug delivery to manufacturing-scale separation of biomolecules using functional membranes. Recent advances in the technology of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) have enabled precise control of the polymer chemistry, coating thickness, and conformality. That comprehensive control of surface properties has been used to elicit desirable interactions at the interface between synthetic materials and living organisms, making vapor-deposited functional polymers uniquely suitable for biological applications. This review captures the recent technological development in vapor-deposited functional polymer coatings, highlighting their biological applications, including membrane-based bio-separations, biosensing and bio-MEMS, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. The conformal nature of vapor-deposited coatings ensures uniform coverage over micro- and nano-structured surfaces, allowing the independent optimization of surface and bulk properties. The substrate-independence of CVD techniques enables facile transfer of surface characteristics among different applications. The vapor-deposited functional polymer thin films tend to be biocompatible because they are free of remnant toxic solvents and precursor molecules, potentially lowering the barrier to clinical success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Khlyustova
- Robert F. Smith School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850, USA.
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7
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Has C, Sunthar P. A comprehensive review on recent preparation techniques of liposomes. J Liposome Res 2019; 30:336-365. [DOI: 10.1080/08982104.2019.1668010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C. Has
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
| | - P. Sunthar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India
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8
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Girish V, Pazzi J, Li A, Subramaniam AB. Fabrics of Diverse Chemistries Promote the Formation of Giant Vesicles from Phospholipids and Amphiphilic Block Copolymers. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:9264-9273. [PMID: 31276413 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b01621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Giant vesicles composed of phospholipids and amphiphilic block copolymers are useful for biomimetic drug delivery, for biophysical experiments, and for creating synthetic cells. Here, we report that large numbers of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) can be formed on a broad range of fabrics composed of entangled cylindrical fibers. We show that fabrics woven from fibers of silk, wool, rayon, nylon, polyester, and fiberglass promote the formation of GUVs and giant polymer vesicles (polymersomes) in aqueous solutions. The result extends significantly previous reports on the formation of GUVs on cellulose paper and cotton fabric. Giant vesicles formed on all the fabrics from lipids with various headgroup charges, chains lengths, and chain saturations. Giant vesicles could be formed from multicomponent lipid mixtures, from extracts of plasma membranes, and from amphiphilic diblock and triblock copolymers, in both low ionic strength and high ionic strength solutions. Intriguingly, statistical characterization using a model lipid, 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, revealed that the majority of the fabrics yielded similar average counts of vesicles. Additionally, the vesicle populations obtained from the different fabrics had similar distributions of sizes. Fabrics are ubiquitous in society in consumer, technical, and biomedical applications. The discovery herein that biomimetic GUVs grow on fabrics opens promising new avenues in vesicle-based smart materials design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaishnavi Girish
- Department of Bioengineering , University of California, Merced , Merced , California 95343 , United States
| | - Joseph Pazzi
- Department of Bioengineering , University of California, Merced , Merced , California 95343 , United States
| | - Alexander Li
- Department of Bioengineering , University of California, Merced , Merced , California 95343 , United States
| | - Anand Bala Subramaniam
- Department of Bioengineering , University of California, Merced , Merced , California 95343 , United States
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9
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Pazzi J, Xu M, Subramaniam AB. Size Distributions and Yields of Giant Vesicles Assembled on Cellulose Papers and Cotton Fabric. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:7798-7804. [PMID: 30444125 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b03076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Lamellar phospholipid stacks on cellulose paper vesiculate to form cell-like giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) in aqueous solutions. The sizes and yields of the GUVs that result and their relationship to the properties of the cellulose fibers are unknown. Here, we report the characteristics of GUVs produced on four different cellulose substrates, three disordered porous media consisting of randomly entangled cellulose fibers (high-purity cellulose filter papers of different effective porosities), and an ordered network of weaved cellulose fibers (cotton fabric). Large numbers of GUVs formed on all four substrates. This result demonstrates for the first time that GUVs form on cotton fabric. Despite differences in the effective porosities and the configuration of the cellulose fibers, all four substrates yielded populations of GUVs with similar distribution of diameters. The distribution of diameters of the GUVs had a single well-defined peak and a right tail. Ninety-eight percent of the GUVs had diameters less than the average diameter of the cellulose fibers (∼20 micrometers). Cotton fabric produced the highest yield of GUVs with the lowest sample-to-sample variation. Moreover, cotton fabric is reusable. Fabric used sequentially produced similar crops of GUVs at each cycle. At the end of the sequence, there was no apparent change in the cellulose fibers. Cellulose fibers thus promote the vesiculation of lamellar phospholipid stacks in aqueous solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Pazzi
- Department of Bioengineering , University of California, Merced , Merced , California 95343 , United States
| | - Melissa Xu
- Department of Bioengineering , University of California, Merced , Merced , California 95343 , United States
| | - Anand Bala Subramaniam
- Department of Bioengineering , University of California, Merced , Merced , California 95343 , United States
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Movsesian N, Dianat G, Gupta M. Downstream Monomer Capture and Polymerization during Vapor Phase Fabrication of Porous Membranes. Ind Eng Chem Res 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b01315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nareh Movsesian
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Golnaz Dianat
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Malancha Gupta
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
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Maktabi S, Schertzer JW, Chiarot PR. Dewetting-induced formation and mechanical properties of synthetic bacterial outer membrane models (GUVs) with controlled inner-leaflet lipid composition. SOFT MATTER 2019; 15:3938-3948. [PMID: 31011738 PMCID: PMC6647036 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm00223e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The double-membrane cellular envelope of Gram-negative bacteria enables them to endure harsh environments and represents a barrier to many clinically available antibiotics. The outer membrane (OM) is exposed to the environment and is the first point of contact involved in bacterial processes such as signaling, pathogenesis, and motility. As in the cytoplasmic membrane, the OM in Gram-negative bacteria has a phospholipid-rich inner leaflet and an outer leaflet that is predominantly composed of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We report on a microfluidic technique for fabricating monodisperse asymmetric giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) possessing the Gram-negative bacterial OM lipid composition. Our continuous microfluidic fabrication technique generates 50-150 μm diameter water-in-oil-in-water double emulsions at high-throughput. The water-oil and oil-water interfaces facilitate the self-assembly of phospholipid and LPS molecules to create the inner and outer leaflets of the lipid bilayer, respectively. The double emulsions have ultrathin oil shells, which minimizes the amount of residual organic solvent that remains trapped between the leaflets of the GUV membrane. An extraction process by ethanol and micropipette aspiration of the ultrathin oil shells triggers an adhesive interaction between the two lipid monolayers assembled on the water-oil and oil-water interfaces (i.e., dewetting transition), forcing them to contact and form a lipid bilayer membrane. The effect of different inner-leaflet lipid compositions on the emulsion/vesicle stability and the dewetting transition is investigated. We also report on the values for bending and area expansion moduli of synthetic asymmetric model membranes with lipid composition/architecture that is physiologically relevant to the OM in Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sepehr Maktabi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, USA.
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12
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Dianat G, Movsesian N, Gupta M. Process–Structure–Property Relationships for Porous Membranes Formed by Polymerization of Solid Monomer by a Vapor-Phase Initiator. Macromolecules 2018. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.8b02201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Golnaz Dianat
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Nareh Movsesian
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Malancha Gupta
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
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