Alex Smirnov

Here we describe a novel type of a hybrid nanostructure - substrate-supported macroscopically-aligned lipid bilayers that are formed by self-assembling phospholipids into nanotubular structures inside ordered nanochannels of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO). Such hybrid structures, which we named lipid nanotube arrays, have many attractive features for membrane biochip technology and biophysical studies of membrane proteins. Specifically, the high density of rigid AAO nanochannels provides at least a 1000-fold gain in the bilayer surface area over a similarly sized planar substrate chip while adequately protecting lipid bilayers from an environmental contamination. We have found these structures suitable for incorporating functional membrane proteins. The optical properties of the substrates we developed allowed for assessing the integrity of proteins by optical methods. Finally, cylindrical organization of lipid nanotubes was verified and further studied by spin-labeling EPR and solid-state 31P NMR. We propose that a large number of membrane proteins and their complexes could be incorporated into AAO-supported lipid nanotubes and studied by a number of biophysical methods including optical spectroscopy. Such structures appear to be suitable for developing membrane protein biochips and biosensing platforms to screen a variety of analytes for interactions with protein receptors and cellular membranes.

Biography: Alex Smirnov received his Ph.D. in in Chemical Physics from Moscow Physical Technical Institute, USSR in 1990. He is currently a Prof. of Chemistry in North Carolina State University (NCSU). He was a recipient of the International EPR Society Young Investigator Medal in 1998. Prof. Smirnov’s research activities are concentrated in three principal areas: 1) lipid nanotube arrays for protein biochips and hybrid nanoscale devices, 2) fundamental roles of intermolecular interactions in self-assembly and structure-function relationships of membrane proteins, 3) coupled spin systems and spin coherence in nanostructures and information devices that are based on quantum principles.

Address:Chemistry Dept, , Raleigh, North Carolina, United States

Alex Smirnov

Biography:

Address:Raleigh, North Carolina, United States