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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 1: Membranes, Vesicles, Synthetic Cells

BP 1.1: Vortrag

Montag, 27. März 2023, 09:30–09:45, BAR Schö

Bottom-up assembly of a synthetic glycocalyx on lipid vesicles — •Kevin Jahnke and David A. Weitz — Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

The glycocalyx serves as physicochemical barrier that increases cellular rigidity and as interface for chemical cues to guide cell-cell communication. However, while preliminary results highlight the importance of the glycocalyx, the biophysical functioning remained elusive and mostly untested due to the complexity within natural cells. Recent advances in the membrane functionalization of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) with macromolecules like DNA and proteins (Jahnke et al., ACS Nano 2022; Jahnke et al. Nat. Commun. 2021) pave the way for a systematic investigation of glycocalyx properties within a fully-controlled environment. Here, we engineer biomimetic glycocalyces to understand their effect on the biophysical properties of GUVs. The synthetic glycocalyx consists of polysaccharides functionalized with cholesterol that self-assemble in the lipid membrane. We employ fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and micropipette aspiration to assess the changes in diffusion and membrane rigidity of glycocalyx-decorated GUVs. The control over the type of polysaccharide, its molecular weight and density on the vesicle enable us to design and study a variety of synthetic glycocalyces. Additionally, we compare them to other common vesicle functionalizations like polyethyleneglycol and explore their potential for carbohydrate-specific adhesion. This work underpins bottom-up glycocalyx engineering as important tool for cellular biophysics and biotechnological applications.