Objective
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics threatens global health. Because bacteria have not developed resistance to naturally existing antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), AMPs or their derivatives offer promise as microbicidal agents. AMPs kill microbial cell but rarely damage the mammalian cells that produce and secrete them. Both mechanisms of interaction are poorly understood.
This project will combine novel and standard bio-sensing technologies with alpha-defensins (a-Defs) with varying potencies and distinct mechanisms of membrane disruption in order to test hypotheses directed at the molecular mechanisms of a-Def action. Fully characterised recombinant mammalian a-Defs and a-Defs with site-directed mutations will be used with model membranes that mimic bacterial and mammalian membrane systems. These model membranes, supported on the surface of two biosensors will be used to study the mechanism of interaction of the above AMPs with the membranes.
Optical biosensors based on Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and novel acoustic wave devices based on shear horizontal surface acoustic waves (SH-SAW) will be used to monitor changes in the mass and elasticity of the model supported lipid bilayers during peptide binding. Real time data will be used to derive quantitative information on the binding and kinetic constants of the peptide-membrane. Comparison between optical and acoustic wave data will be used to distinguish between peptide surface binding from bilayer insertion.
We hypothesize that the combination of the above re al time techniques will provide insights into why these endogenous membrane-active molecules do not kill their cells of origin. Proof of these principles is directly applicable to future development of new therapeutic pathways for infectious diseases. In addition the successful application of the above two biosensors will open new possibilities in biophysical analysis and will introduce opto-acoustic measurements as a novel powerful bio-analytical tool.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering sensors biosensors
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology biosensing
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP6-2002-MOBILITY-11
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
IRAKLIO, CRETE
Greece
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.