DPD lecture award for Gabriella Santonicola
Gabriella Santonicola won the lecture award at DPD 2011 (Chemistry Session) that took place in Veldhoven, The Netherlands
Lecture title:
Surface-Grafted Zwitterionic Polymers as Support for Stable and Functional Biomembranes
The lecture covered recent developments in the properties of zwitterionic polymer layers grafted from surfaces using surface-initiated controlled polymerizations, and how they can be used to guide the self-assembly and stability of phospholipid membranes on solid supports. These functional polymeric platforms are especially useful in biologically-oriented applications involving the confinement of membrane proteins onto surfaces, such as pharmaceutical screening or biosensing. Here the limitedstability and poor functionality of the supported lipid membranes, where membrane proteins are embedded, are major issues that affect the long-term use of such devices and often require functionalization strategies to improve biocompatibility.