Mimicking cells

Mimicking a real living cell by combining artificial membranes and nanomaterials in one construction is the aim of a new research grant at the

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The Nanoscale Integrated Research Team grant, funded by the US National Science Foundation with $1.6 million over four years, will study membranes mounted on aerogels, solid materials riddled with so many tiny pores that they are mostly empty.

All living cells are wrapped in a double-layered membrane of oily lipid molecules. Cell membranes are studded with proteins and other molecules, governing how food and wastes get in and out of a cell, how cells signal to and react to their environment, and how they divide and grow.

Currently, researchers studying artificial membranes mount them on solid substrates such as gold, glass or polymers, but that means that only one side of the membrane is accessible, said Subhash Risbud, professor of chemical engineering and materials science at UC Davis and principal investigator on the project.