Many processes in biology are based on the chemical properties of the natural substances involved in them - including such "multi-layered" ones as the structure of membranes and the transport processes that take place across them. In this course, students will investigate the self organising forces of lipids (surfactants) and proteins, learn how to mark them and make them visible, and thus get to grips with models of membrane transport and fusion.

Experiments:

• Surface tension and wetting
• Self-organisation of surfactants
• Molecular folding of proteins
• Fluorescence and colour (excitation/emission, aldol condensation)
• Vesicle preparation with electroformation
• Model experiments on transport and fusion (dialysis tube, crown ether as a simple carrier, vesicle passage through density layers)

Duration: 1day

Max. Number of participants: 16, from grade 10