NanoChemILiA

Biological membranes play multiple crucial roles at the cellular level. Nevertheless, knowledge on the influence of the organization and membrane lipid composition on the molecular processes involved in biological activity at the cellular level remains incomplete, because it requires chemical characterization at the nanometer scale in a liquid medium which proves to be complex and expensive. In this context, the NanoChemILiA project aims to determine the spatial distribution, size, shape and composition of lipid domains by tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) imaging in a liquid medium with nanoscale spatial resolution. This project involves the achievement of several technical advances, namely the development of a user-friendly TERS system in total internal reflection for measurements in a liquid medium, and the optimization of optical nanosources that are robust, efficient and easily manufactured by TERS users by noble metal electrodeposition. Furthermore, it also requires the controlled preparation of supported lipid bilayers of various compositions and the characterization of their morphological, nanomechanical and spectral properties, which will be correlated with TERS data to better understand the behavior of these membranes. To accomplish the various tasks proposed, a multidisciplinary consortium made up of two research groups of Bordeaux experts in vibrational spectroscopy, electrochemistry and biophysics has been set up and will interact strongly throughout the duration of the project. The success of NanoChemILiA would notably open the way to future work describing the interaction between lipids and membrane proteins at the nanoscale, with a major potential impact for biomedical applications.