ACS Omega, 2(11) 7482–7492 (2017)
Daniela Ciumac, Richard A. Campbell, Luke A. Clifton, Hai Xu∥ , Giovanna Fragneto, and Jian R. Lu
Different bacterial types and their living environments can lead to different saturations in the chains of their membrane lipids. Such structural differences may influence the efficacy of antibiotics that target bacterial membranes. In this work, […]

Colloids and Surfaces B, 150, 308–316 (2017).
Daniela Ciumac, Richard A. Campbell, Hai Xu, Luke A. Clifton, Arwel V. Hughes, John R.P. Webster, Jian R. Lu
Many antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) target bacterial membranes and they kill bacteria by causing structural disruptions. One of the fundamental issues however lies in the selective responses of AMPs to different cell […]

8 April 2015. SNAL open day in Manchester University, UK

Timetable:
Venue:
Meeting will be held in : School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, UK
Schuster building,
Oxford Rd,
Manchester M13 9PL
United Kingdom

Neutron Reflection (NR) is a highly credible, non-destructive technique used to study the interfaces. It helps to define the interface properties between different material layers, and these layers can be studied with the resolution of the order of angstroms. By measuring the position of interfaces between different materials, the thickness of the layer can be […]

Thin Solid Films, (2014) 565, 267–270 DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2014.06.027

L. Sirghi, Daniela Ciumac, V. Tiron
Deposition of thin films on atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes is a common technique that is used to either improve the light reflectance of the back side of the probe cantilevers or to modify the surface properties of the probe tips. However, this technique also affects […]

Ellipsometry is an optical technique for analyzing and characterizing an interface or a layer between two surfaces. The method is based on the measure of the change of polarization as light interacts with the material structure of interest [1]. Ellipsometry is a very used technique, with applications in various fields, as semiconductor physics, microelectronics, biology, […]

Dual polarization interferometry [1] is a relatively new technique, which explores the molecular layers adsorbed to the surface of a waveguide by means of an electromagnetic evanescent wave of a laser beam; it measures the refractive index and the thickness of very thin films, and is also used to study the protein adsorption at solid/water […]

The Langmuir trough is a laboratory apparatus used to create and characterize single molecule thick films by controlling the packing density of the molecules. The idea of a Langmuir film was first proposed by Dr. Irving Langmuir in 1917, when he created a single-molecule thin film on water surface.

When a monolayer is fabricated at the […]

Supported bilayers and vesicles
Objectives
The intention of this project is to obtain experimental information and feedback for system improvement of nano-objects interacting with model membranes (supported bilayers and vesicles).

to apply a combination of techniques including neutron reflectivity, SANS (Manchester, Unilever), AFM, TEM (Strasbourg, Manchester) to characterise supported lipid bilayers and model vesicles;
to  investigate  how  different  nano-objects  […]