Applications
Application areas
Biological membranes
Biological membranes constitute the border between various compartments in living organisms. The cell membrane is a biological membrane that is separating the interior of a cell from the outside environment. The cell membrane is semi-permeable and is controlling the movement of substances in and out of cells. It contains a wide variety of biological molecules, primarily membrane proteins and lipids, which are involved in a variety of cellular processes such as cell adhesion, ion channel conductance and cell signalling. Being able to study the function of these membranes from these various perspectives are of utmost importance for understand the biology and to find new ways to fight potential illnesses. Layerlab technologies and products enable the study of these membrane associated processes.
Membrane proteins
A membrane protein is a protein that is attached to, or associated with the membrane of a cell. A majority of proteins interact in some way with membranes. There are basicall two tyes of membrane proteins. Those who are permantly attached and intergrated with the membrane and those that are more loosely attached to the membrane surface.
Integral membrane proteins
These proteins are permanently attached to the membrane. They contains regions that are predominantly hydrophilic which are exposed to the outside of the membranbe and regions that are predominantly hydrophobic that are located within the membrane. Transmembrane proteins span the entire membrane.
Peripheral membrane proteins
These proteins are attached o the lipid bilayer or to integral proteins by a combination of forces such as hydrophobic, electrostatic, and hydrogen bonds.
Proteins
Protein interactions analysis has been the main application of biosensors. Traditionally it has been to investigate the interaction that antibodies has with biologically relevant antigens. With the z-LAB we have the possibility to analyse the difference between native and denatured proteins. The denatured form of a protein will based on the fact that its faulty 3D-structure not bind in the correct way to a biocompatible surface and therefore form a protein film on the sensor surface giving raise to a very different signal compared to the native form of the protein that binds in the correct way even though the protein mass attached to the surface is the same in both cases.
Another major analysis on functioning proteins are to determine correct Post-Translational Modifications. Th z-LAB with its REIS technology is well equipped to analyse phosphorylations on proteins compared to the non-phosphorylated versions.
Cells
All living organisms are made up of cells. The understanding of cells and how they function is therefore of utmost importance for unravelling biology for the general understanding and to draw conclusion on how to treat various diseases. During the study of cells there are several approaches used today for the understanding. Layerlab technologies can be useful in some of those studies. Via the use of the RESI based z-LAB the attachement of cells to surfaces and the way they are attached and grow as a measure of how the cells do feel or in what state they are can be measured. The nanoLAYER surfaces based on the BNCS technology can act as a good surface on which the attachement and growth of cells can be analysed in real time.
Biomaterials
Our innate immune system is designed to recognize foreign objects that enter the body, and it does not differ between harmful bacteria or a very useful hip implant. The first action that takes place when an implant comes in contact with our body is that proteins start to adhere to the implant surface. It can be proteins from the eye fluid that aggregate on a contact lens or blood proteins that adheres to a stent, inserted to prevent vascular spasms. The type and structure of the adsorbed protein determines in turn the cellular response to the surface, and it is important to be able to follow the complete process from build-up of the surface chemistry, adsorbed protein function to cellular attachment in order to be able to evaluate the biocompatibility of an implant. Complications in regards to implant failure are costly and can reduce the patient’s quality of life. Hence, questions regarding protein interaction to different surfaces are central within biomaterial research.
Surfaces
Functional surfaces are surfaces designed to interact with its environment in a certain way in order to fulfill a specific purpose. Usually the surface interactions are tuned by applying thin-films or molecular coating on top of more rigid materials. This technique is used both for industrial applications like sensors, commercial products like plasters and other medical devices. Other related applications can be found within the emerging nanotechnology research and fabrication.
Many of the instruments used for surface analysis measure the mass of molecules or films attaching to the surface without giving any information of their structural properties. Complex impedance measurements with the RESI technique (z-LAB Instrument) is independent of molecular mass, but give data correlated to the structural mode of the molecules or films on the surface. This very important information can be hard to extract using other techniques.