Cell membrane engineering

In recent years work was started in which this sort of phenomena are smdied at the cell level, particularly the electrical breakdown of cell membranes and the fusion of neighboring cells under the influence of electric fields. These studies are of great value, in particular, for the further development of cell engineering and gene technology. 

AEA. 2001m. Cell Membrane Life Tests, Report Number 20/3034/13/004 (final), December 12. Pittsburgh, Pa. AEA Technology Engineering Services, Inc. 

Conformational restriction of biologically flexible molecules is a successful strategy in drug development. Application of this concept to ceramide, the membrane anchor of sphingolipids, led to the unexpected inhibition of glycosyltransferases involved in the combinatorial biosynthesis of gangliosides. This discovery offers a new approach to cell surface engineering. 

Fig. 1.4.8. Concept for cell surface engineering exogenously added ceramide analogs can lead to modification of the hydrophobic and the hydrophilic part of membrane sphingolipids and alter the properties of membrane proteins.

Ion transport is also often coupled with cellular energy production and with nutrient and product membrane transport. Aside from Papoutsakis work on the influence of methanol transport on growth of methanol-consuming bacteria, the importance of membrane control of nutrient and product fluxes into the cell has been largely ignored by biochemical engineers [25]. Better methods for measuring the pH and electrical potential differences across cell membranes are needed, as is more careful consideration of membrane-mediated processes in cell kinetics models. 

Complete fuel cells are engineered for isothermal oxidation by the addition of perm-selective membranes and isothermal concentration cells. They would, if developed, generate much higher Nernst potential difference than an existing incomplete fuel cell. That would give a chance for fuel cells to draw level, a chance the industry does not seem to understand. 

Those anaiytioai systems where liposomes are used as artificial cell membranes to study body distribution mechanisms as efficient drug-delivery systems, controlled drug delivery, the synthesis of new biomaterial for tissue engineering and gene therapy are worthy of special mention. 

The continuous interest and growth of the various new industrial processes related to the life sciences will also require significant contributions from membrane engineering. It is hoped that future research would provide deeper insight on the precise mechanisms involved, which would show new direction for research in membrane science and applications. It is, however, important to recognize that applicability of electroporation has been demonstrated in a variety of bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cells and some applications are ready for exploitation while many new technologies seem potentially possible. 

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