Our team Biomolecules: Analysis, Molecular and Cellular Interactions is multidisciplinary with expertise in biology, chemistry and physics. We are interested in developing biophysical and chemical biology tools to understand the functions of biomolecules and their interactions in various biological processes. Our projects focus on:
– The fundamental understanding of functional biomolecules, such as cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), homeoproteins (HPs) and viral peptides, and their general utilization for biotechnological and biomedical applications (F. Burlina, S. Cribier, T. Drujon, F. Illien, C. Lacombe, D. Ravault, N. Rodriguez, E. Sachon, S. Sagan, A. Walrant, D. Warschawski);
– The design of photolabelling and bioorthogonal ligation-based approaches to study post-translational and epigenetic modifications (G. Bolbach, F. Burlina, T. Drujon, E. Sachon), and the use of extended chemical ligation for the synthesis of modified proteins (F. Burlina);
– The development of new analytical tools such as mass spectrometry-based methods for the detection of biomolecule interactions in complex systems (G. Bolbach, E. Sachon, S. Sagan, A. Walrant), solid-state NMR-based methods to study living micro-organisms such as bacteria or micro-algae and the effects of pollution (D. Warschawski), and original biophysical setups to measure biomolecular interactions and movements of charged molecules through membranes (S. Cribier, N. Rodriguez);
– The invention of new fluorescent biosensors and chemical-genetic tools to observe and study dynamic biochemical events in live cells and tissues with high spatial and temporal resolution (A. Gautier, N. Pietrancosta).