Graphene has potential as cell membrane modelling surface

The researchers at Manchester University - led by Dr Aravind Vijayaraghavan, and Dr Michael Hirtz at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) - describe their work in Nature Communications.

The human body contains 100 trillion cells, each of which is enveloped in a cell membrane that have a plethora of proteins, ion channels and other molecules embedded in them, each performing vital functions.

Understand these systems will enable their application in areas such as bio-sensing, bio-catalysis and drug-delivery. Considering that it is difficult to accomplish this by studying live cells inside the human body, scientists have developed model cell membranes on surfaces outside the body, to study the systems and processes under more convenient and accessible conditions.

Dr Vijayaraghavan’s team at Manchester and their collaborators at KIT have shown that graphene is a suitable new surface on which to assemble these model membranes, and is claimed to bring many advantages compared to existing surfaces.