Cell membranes represent a serious protective barrier for external molecules, proteins, nanoparticles and drugs. This barrier is quite efficient in protecting the interior of the cells. However, large nanoscale objects, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been found inside the cells both in direct and indirect biological experiments. Such experiments suggest that carbon nanotubes can efficiently […]

Thomas Heimburg

Biophys. J., 103 (5), 918–929 (2012)

Biomembranes are thin capacitors with the unique feature of displaying phase transitions in a physiologically relevant regime. We investigate the voltage and lateral pressure dependence of their capacitance close to their chain melting transition. Because the gel and the fluid membrane have different area and thickness, the capacitance of […]

Christian Freese, Matthew I. Gibso, Harm-Anton Klok, Ronald E. Unger, C. James Kirkpatrick

Biomacromolecules, 13 (5), pp 1533–1543 (2012)

A library-orientated approach is used to gain understanding of the interactions of well-defined nanoparticles with primary human endothelial cells, which are a key component of the vasculature. Fifteen sequentially modified gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) based on three different core […]

Jennifer Kasper, Maria I. Hermanns, Christoph Bantz, Olga Koshkina, Thomas Lang, Michael Maskos, Christine Pohl, Ronald E. Unger, C. James Kirkpatrick

Arch. Toxicol., 6 (2012)

Amorphous silica nanoparticles (aSNPs) gain increasing popularity for industrial and therapeutic claims. The lung with its surface area of 100–140 m2 displays an ideal target for therapeutic approaches, but it represents also […]

Christian Freese, Chiara Uboldi, Matthew I Gibson, Ronald E Unger, Babette B Weksler, Ignacio A Romero, Pierre-Olivier Couraud, C J Kirkpatrick

Part Fibre Toxicol., 9, 23 (2012)

BACKGROUND:
The use of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for diagnostic applications and for drug and gene-delivery is currently under intensive investigation. For such applications, biocompatibility and the absence of cytotoxicity of AuNPs […]

Marcus Müller, Yuliya G. Smirnova, Giovanni Marelli, Marc Fuhrmans, and An-Chang Shi

Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 228103 (2012)

The formation of an hourglass-shaped passage (stalk) connecting two apposed membranes is an essential initial step in membrane fusion. The most probable transition path from two separate membranes to a stalk, i.e., the minimum free-energy path (MFEP), is […]