Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Chemistry
Date of Award
12-2021
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Robert Standaert
Committee Members
Aruna Kilaru, Ismail Kady
Abstract
Phospholipid bilayers are the principal component of the cell membrane. Membranes ensure the maintenance of processes required for cells’ survival by regulating the inflow and outflow of nutrients and other molecules using membrane proteins. However, studying the cell membrane is challenging because of its complexity and small size. In-vitro membrane models made of phospholipids are important tools for studying membranes. In this work, we aim to study the fluidity of phospholipid bilayers of different lipids using general polarization (GP) of the fluorescent probe Laurdan as a measure. We will focus on the relative importance of head groups and fatty acids in the phospholipid. For this purpose, we are synthesizing chimeric lipids with the common human head group phosphocholine paired with bacterial fatty acids. We will compare the response of the human and chimeric lipids to temperature and biofuels to ascertain whether improved stress tolerance can be obtained with the chimeras.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Tade, Opeyemi O., "Study of the Cell Membrane and the Synthesis of Chimeric Human Bacterial Phospholipids" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3990. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3990
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.