SAXS on the structural characterization of DMPG aqueous dispersions

• Grant number: 15/14695-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: October 01, 2015
• End date: March 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Maria Teresa Moura Lamy
• Grantee: Daniela Akiko Nomura
• Supervisor: Georg Pabst
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Graz, Austria
• Associated to the scholarship: 13/14296-9 - Structural characterization of aqueous dispersions of anionic lipids, BP.DD

Abstract

This project complements the current regular research project (DD - FAPESP Process 2013/14296-9), and is part of a comprehensive study about structural properties of aqueous dispersion of amphiphilic aggregates, at the Biophysical Group of the Institute of Physics of the University of São Paulo, in collaboration with several groups, involving theoretical models and experiments.The aim of the present project is the application of Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) to get further information about a system we have been studying with different other techniques: low ionic strength aqueous dispersions of the anionic lipid dimyristoyl phosphatidylglycerol (DMPG). At low ionic strength, electrical interactions between lipids, either intra-vesicle or inter-vesicles, are extremely relevant. SAXS is a powerful technique, which has played a major role in revealing structural properties of biological and model membranes. Here, we propose collaboration with Prof. Georg Pabst, from the Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Biophysics Division, of the University of Graz, Austria, a well-known specialist on applications of neutron and X-ray scattering to the structural study of biological and model membranes. With Prof. Pabst, we hope to be able to learn how to properly analyze the data already collected at the Laboratório Nacional de Luz Síncroton (LNLS), in Brazil, or to collect new SAXS data, if necessary, to get information about the structure and interactions of DMPG aggregates in water medium, at low ionic strength. (AU)