Thesis supervisor: Tamás Beke-Somfai
Location of studies (in Hungarian): MTA Természettudományi Kutatóközpont Abbreviation of location of studies: MTA
Description of the research topic:
Development of resistance by bacteria to antibiotics makes design of novel antimicrobial compounds increasingly important. As persistent cells often become slow-growing or dormant, strategies targeting their membrane are becoming more relevant. Toxic oligomers may assemble into hydrophilic or lipophilic sheet rich barrel constructs. However, this mechanism is not understood, greatly hindering rational development of similar compounds. To approach this problem, we aim to design and study foldamer oligomer assemblies. We hope to define the fundamentals of how peptide - lipid bilayer interactions govern formation of potentially toxic oligomers at a molecular level. This may be exploited for developing new antimicrobial compounds. Foldamers are highly similar to natural peptides in terms of structural diversity, thus they are ideal model systems, in several cases showing antibiotic activity and enzyme resistance. The structures will be designed with theoretical (QM&MD) tools and studied with experimental methods in model membranes. We plan to use X-ray scattering methods (SAXS,WAXS) and polarized light spectroscopy. The synthetic part is planned to be carried out at our collaborating partner in Göteborg, Sweden. Applicant is expected to travel there for several shorter times to perform project related tasks
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