Abstracts Category : Other

Dynamics ofpeptide capsules in saline solutions

by Susan Whitaker

Nanocapsules have become more popular as potentialtherapeutic agents in recent years. Though liposomes are the mostpopular and well-studied, nanocapsules made of peptides have theirdistinct advantages as the research behind them intensifies.Branched Amphiphilic Peptide Capsules (BAPCs) are a type ofself-assembling nanocapsules that are made up of two similarbranched, amphiphilic, chemically synthesized peptides. Thesepeptides self-assemble into bilayer delimited capsules capable ofencapsulating solutes and even small proteins in aqueous solution.Previous studies have shown that these nanocapsules are taken up bycells in culture without negative effects and can be given to anorganism, distributed throughout the organism without cytotoxiceffects, suggesting a possible future as a therapeuticnanoparticle. For use as a therapeutic system, the understandingof how these BAPCs behave in the presence of sodium and chloride,two very common biological ions, must be understood andcharacterized. Previously published work showed that the BAPCbilayer is semipermeable and excludes sodium and chloride ions.Current research has expanded on this. Besides being semipermeable,this bilayer is also a dynamic membrane that has the ability toexpand and contract due to osmotic pressure from ions in solution.Eosin Y, an autoquenching dye, has been used for many of thestudies to monitor the behavior and the amount of water within theBAPCs. Having insight into how the BAPCs change under physiologicalconditions is necessary if these nanoparticles are to be used in aclinical setting and may open doors to new uses.Advisors/Committee Members: John M. Tomich.