Mechanical channel gating and on-chip protein expression for direct insertion of membrane proteins (A07)

• Subject Area: Biophysics
• Term: from 2009 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 55908123

Many cell types are mechanosensitive and employ membrane channels for this function. We build here on the previously developed microfabricated porous substrate supported membranes integrated in a microfluidic chip with electrical and optical access. We will pursue a micromechanical understanding of mechanosensitive channels. In parallel with numerical simulations, we will analyze the mechanical gating of channels of the K2P family reconstituted into giant unilamellar vesicles. By cell-free expression on the microfluidic chips, we will develop a new way to reconstitute channels directly.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 803: Functionality Controlled by Organisation in and between Membranes
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Christoph Friedrich Schmidt, until 5/2019