Physical chemistry of peptide-lipid co-assembly: from lipid-rich to peptide-rich

This project builds on recent insight that peptide-lipid co-assembly is a central phenomenon of high relevance for peptide biomaterials as well as atherosclerosis and neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The co-assembly between peptides and lipids is, however, not well understood and there is a need for a concerted and focused research effort.

We will build upon our combined expertise and pioneering studies in this field and take a concerted physical-chemistry approach to unravel and understand the underlying molecular mechanisms for peptide-lipid co-assembly and its structural and functional consequences. We will use a number of peptide and lipid model systems to make it possible to discern general from specific behavior.

We aim at understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms for peptide-lipid co-assembly and its structural and functional consequences at a molecular level. Towards the end of the project we will have obtained (i) a clear view on the significance of peptide-lipid co-assembly, (ii) an overview of molecular specificities, (iii) a quantitative understanding of factors that govern molecular pathways and kinetics of co-assembly and (iv) detailed information on the structure of co-assemblies, including transient structures. This will be achieved by using state-of-the art methodologies building on optical and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, scattering techniques, single molecule fluorescence microscopy, hydrodynamic trapping and electron microscopy.

The results will not only forward a much studied field in a new direction and enhance our fundamental understanding of peptide-lipid co-assembly, but may in turn also enable future development and understanding of smart peptide based materials as well as aberrant protein aggregation with implications for a range of human diseases.