Elucidating liquid crystal-aqueous interface for the study of cholesterol-mediated action of a β-barrel pore forming toxin

Abstract

Pore-forming toxins (PFTs) produced by the pathogenic bacteria serve as the prominent virulence factors with potent cell-killing activity. Most of the β-barrel PFTs form transmembrane oligomeric pores in the membrane...

Liquid Crystal Biosensors: A New Therapeutic Window to Point-of-Care Diagnostics

“…Before moving on to the discussion of LC biosensors for diagnostic applications, it might be helpful to the reader if we recapitulate the pioneering works that laid the foundation of biomedical interfaces for clinical applications. For the first time, Abbott et al demonstrated that biological lipids can be self-assembled at the aqueous interfaces of LCs, resulting in phospholipid-decorated LC interfaces wherein the mobility of adsorbed lipids is comparable to that of biological membranes. ,, These studies were instrumental in designing membrane mimics to delineate complex lipid–protein interactions which play a significant role in modulating disease states. ,− These interfaces could report real-time enzymatic activity, membrane disruption of antimicrobial peptides, membrane-induced aggregation of amyloid peptides, ligand–receptor binding, and so on. ,− LCs have recently been used to construct functional interfaces for detecting environmental pollutants, small-molecule analytes, toxic metal ions, and disease-causing pathogens. − ,− Using analyte-specific recognition elements such as aptamers and antibodies, highly sensitive multiplexed detection of antigens and biomarkers has been achieved for point-of-care diagnostics. − However, although optical approaches might be more sensitive than electrochemical ones, most end users are turned off by their expense and complexity.…”

Architectural Effect on Self-Assembly and Biorecognition of Randomly Grafted Linear and Branched Polymers at Liquid Crystal–Water Interfaces

“…The hydrophobic part of an amphiphile can interact strongly with liquid-crystal (LC) molecules at the LC–water interface, inducing LC order–disorder transitions. − The perturbation at the LC–aqueous interface caused by amphiphilic molecules can be readily detected using optical microscopy. In this way, the amphiphile–LC interaction has been exploited to gain insights into protein–lipid interactions, biorecognition at living cell surfaces, and the design of sensors by employing a label-free, simple approach. ,,− Aqueous interfaces of LC present advantages over solid surfaces in terms of preserving the mobility of adsorbed amphiphiles. Although the self-assembly of small amphiphilic molecules has been investigated for the selective recognition of proteins, the specificity of biorecognition is quite often not addressed.…”