Nanoscopic methods to visualise antimicrobial attNanoscopic methods to visualise antimicrobial attackack

The human immune system has a variety of tools available to combat infections including the degradation of bacterial cell walls by antimicrobial peptides or intricate pore-forming machinery such as the membrane attack complex. Since the bacterial cell wall consists of multiple layers, the mechanisms of such degradation are non-trivial to determine. In this project, the student will develop atomic force microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and nanobody labelling methods to visualise the action of antimicrobial agents in live bacteria in real time with high spatial resolution.

The application of these nanoscopic methods will be extended to a more detailed characterisation of antimicrobial action on composite membranes encasing bacterial cells, with application to pore forming proteins and antimicrobial peptides. Such characterisation will serve to gain a better understanding of how our body regulates its bacterial population and resist bacterial invasions, as well as to guide the design of next-generation antibiotics.

The project will be carried out in a highly interdisciplinary environment, interfacing between Prof Hoogenboom's group at the London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL and Dr Ryadnov's group at the NPL. For the student, this project provides an excellent opportunity to gain a comprehensive experience in antimicrobial design, biophysics and biology and to advance a mechanistic understanding of antimicrobial processes together with the underlying physics of micro-/nanoscopy.