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Engineering Planar Gram-Negative Outer Membrane Mimics Using Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles

Aarshi N Singh1, Meishan Wu2, Tiffany T Ye1

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015, United States.

Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|October 25, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Researchers developed a new method to create bacterial outer membrane models. This platform aids in developing new antibiotics against challenging Gram-negative bacteria.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Biophysics
  • Materials Science

Background:

  • Antibiotic resistance is a significant global health threat.
  • The Gram-negative bacterial outer membrane poses a barrier to antibiotic entry, complicating drug development.
  • Novel tools are needed to study antibiotic interactions with this complex barrier.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a method for creating planar supported bacterial outer membranes.
  • To establish a platform for high-throughput antibiotic screening against Gram-negative bacteria.
  • To investigate the properties and potential applications of these engineered membranes.

Main Methods:

  • Modification of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) from *Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans* using synthetic lipids and freeze-thaw cycles to form hybrid vesicles (OM-Hybrids).
  • Spontaneous rupture of OM-Hybrids on SiO2 surfaces to generate planar outer membrane supported bilayers (OM-SBs).
  • Characterization using dynamic light scattering, fluorescence quenching, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D), and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP).

Main Results:

  • Successful formation of OM-Hybrids and subsequent generation of OM-SBs.
  • Demonstrated presence of surface-associated DNA and proteins on OM-SBs.
  • Assessed the interaction of the antimicrobial peptide polymyxin B with the OM-SBs.

Conclusions:

  • The developed platform effectively produces planar bacterial outer membrane surfaces.
  • This method offers a valuable tool for streamlining antibiotic development, particularly for Gram-negative pathogens.
  • The engineered membranes can be used to study antibiotic-membrane interactions and screen potential drug candidates.

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