Image: Madeleine Ramstedt
Image: Madeleine Ramstedt
Research project Many interactions between bacteria and their surroundings relate to processes occurring at their cell surface. In this project we investigate how chemical composition of the bacterial cell envelope influences these interactions.
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The goal of the project is to increase fundamental knowledge that later may have applications in applied fields such as antifouling surfaces or drug delivery.
In order to obtain increased understanding of molecular level processes governing the interactions between the bacterial cells and its surroundings (e.g. interactions with a polymeric brush surface) we have been collaborating with the groups of Professor Thereza Soares at University of São Paulo in Brazil, Professor Julien Gautrot at Queen Mary University of London, UK and Professor Stefan Salentinig at University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
These collaborations allow us to combine a range of experimental data with computer simulations. Thus, we compare macroscopic physicochemical characteristics observed experimentally with molecular level interactions as indicated from molecular dynamics simulations. This work involves both studies of model membranes as well as outer membrane vesicles as models for the bacterial cell.
This international collaboration has been supported by computational resources at the HPC2N, funding from the Swedish research council, the Swiss national science foundation and was initiated by an institutional grant from STINT.
2014. Outer Membrane Remodeling: The Structural Dynamics of Rough Lipopolysaccharide Chemotypes
