Dr. Jerome Henin
Department of Chemistry
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

Thursday, November 29, 2007
3:00 pm (CT)
3269 Beckman Institute

Abstract

Natural antimicrobial peptides have inspired the design of many synthetic, biologically active oligomers. We use atomistic simulations to investigate the interaction of a meta-phenyleneethynylene trimer with a mixed bilayer that mimics the inner membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Key elementary processes are observed, such as aggregation, membrane binding and insertion. The objective is to understand the mechanism of membrane leakage, conducive to selective antibacterial action.