Membranes are an essential part of life as we know it. All forms of life depend on membranes, which form a boundary between the surrounding environment and the biological interior. The project NanoMemR investigates the interaction of radiation and biological membranes via advanced infrared spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. This allows to study what effect radiation has on the ultrastructural level of biological membranes.
The prime scientific objective of NanoMembR is to elucidate the large spectrum of effects of electromagnetic radiation on membranes and membrane components, including short and longer-chain fatty acids, isoprenoids, phospholipids, hopanoids, sterols and pigments. Since membranes are an integral part of all life, membrane stability has far reaching implications for various research fields. For example, membrane stability is crucial for the understanding of the formation of first compartments, which then led to the first cellular structures. In the early stages of the evolution of life, membrane stability played an important role when life started to conquer the top surface of the young Earth, where radiation exposure presented an important environmental challenge. Furthermore, life detection missions to other planets, such as Mars, aim to find so called biosignatures indicative for extinct or possibly extant life. A main challenge however is to determine which molecules are “good” biomarkers in terms of stability and unambiguousness. Since membranes are common to all life, they and their components are prime candidates as biomarkers. Assessing in detail their stability and preservation potential will allow to narrow down a suitable list of organic (biogenic) molecules for planetary exploration missions.
The research project NanoMembR could demonstrate that biological membranes are, although only a few nanometres thick, very robust structures and promising candidates as search targets for life detection mission to other planets due to their supramolecular structure highly specific and due its molecular composition robust and stable against environmental influences, radiation in particular.
