RESEARCH INTERESTS
Research in our lab focuses on understanding the lateral organization and dynamics of lipid molecules within cell membranes. Related work concentrates on monitoring interactions of biomolecules (proteins and polymers) with the cell and following subsequent changes to the membrane. The outer leaflet of the cell is modeled by a lipid monolayer at the air/water interface. To measure material and structural properties of the monolayer, various biophysical techniques ranging from fluorescence microscopy to two-dimensional pressure vs. area isotherms to x-ray scattering are used. Current projects include: 1) determination of the role of lipid molecular shape and charge on the formation of “lipid rafts” or ordered regions in the membrane, 2) characterization of wrinkling and folding in skin cell models, 3) short and long-term effects of exposure to nanoparticles on membrane structure and stability.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Luka Pocivavsek, Shelli L. Frey, Kapilanjan Krishan, Kseniya Gavrilov, Piotr Ruchala, Alan J. Waring, Frans J. Walther, Michael Dennin, Thomas A. Witten and Ka Yee C. Lee. Lateral Stress Relaxation and Collapse in Lipid Monolayers. Soft Matter, 4 (2008) 2019-2029.
Shelli L. Frey, Eva Y. Chi, Cristobal Arratia, Jaroslaw Majewski, Kristian Kjaer and Ka Yee C. Lee. Condensing and Fluidizing Effects of Ganglioside GM1 on Phospholipid Films. Biophysical Journal 94:8 (2008) 3047-3064.
Eva Y. Chi, Shelli L. Frey and Ka Yee C. Lee. Ganglioside GM1-Mediated Amyloid-beta Fibrillogenesis and Membrane Disruption. Biochemistry, 46 (2007) 7: 1913-1924.
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