Objective
Research objectives and content
A new category of antihypertensive drugs is non-peptide receptor antagonists of the major vasoconstrictor hormone Angiotensin II. It is known that Angiotensin II interacts with lipid bilayers and biological membranes. However, the interaction of its receptor antagonists with membranes hasn't been studied. The subject of the proposed project is the study of the interactions of two receptor antagonists of Angiotensin II with different biological activity with phospholipid membranes. The aim is to investigate if these antagonists exerts different effects on phospholipid bilayers in order to correlate their biological activity with their interaction with membranes. 1 his study requires the combination of valuable and complementary biophysical methods such as spin label ESR spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy and high resolution differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results will contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of action of Angiotensin II receptor antagonists. In this way they could promote the synthesis of new antihypertansive drugs.
Training content (objective, benefit and expected impact)
The execution of the project will allow me to extend my expertise acquired during my Ph.D in the research area of biological membranes. Moreover, in addition to 31p NMR and DSC which I used extensively during my Ph.D I will receive training in ESR spectroscopy, a powerfull technique for studies of biological membranes. Furthermore, the execution of the project provides the opportunity to initiate a collaboration between my laboratory in Greece which work in the field of biological membranes with Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistrv in Goettingen which has long experience at the same scientific area.
Links with industry / industrial relevance (22)
Fields of science
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
RGI - Research grants (individual fellowships)Coordinator
37077 Göttingen
Germany