A Simple Radioassay to Detect Nanoscale Membrane Disruption

Methods and Protocols

article

Neha Nanajkar¹  Lekhana S. Mruthyunjaya²  Deepesh Nagarajan³ 

[1]Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park

[2]Department of Food Technology, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences

[3]Department of Biotechnology, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences

[4]Department of Microbiology, St. Xavier’s College

关键词: radioassay;    membrane damage;    antimicrobial peptides;    colistin;    antibiotics;   

DOI  :  10.3390/mps6020023

学科分类：电力

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Understanding the mechanisms and kinetics of membrane damage is of interest to researchers in several overlapping fields of biology. In this study, we describe the development and validation of a simple32PO 43 −release radioassay used to track nanometer-scale damage to the bacterial cell membrane. Nanoscale membrane damage will result in the release of small cytoplasmic molecules, such as amino acids, sugars, and osmolytes. Our radioassay tracks the release of these molecules using the release of cytoplasmic32PO 43 −as a proxy. Our assay can both detect32PO 43 −release and track release kinetics in the order of minutes. We demonstrate the use of our radioassay using A. baumannii treated with colistin and Ω 76: two agents known to cause membrane damage. Our assay tracks greater membrane damage in A. baumannii treated with both these agents, compared to an untreated control. Our assay fills a niche that is not covered by traditional51Cr release radioassays and fluorescent staining techniques. Furthermore, our assay can potentially be used to track membrane damage in other membrane systems such as lipid vesicles, animal cells, and organelles.

【 授权许可】

CC BY