AFM / Fluorescence correlative microscopy for imaging food protein-based systems

CEPIA research division funded post-doctoral position is available to investigate the building-up mechanisms of arrangement of proteins involved in the stabilisation of emulsions.

The direct localisation of individual macromolecules remains an important challenge to elucidate their fine organisation at the nanometric scale and to connect it to the properties of the macroscopic systems formed by the assembly of the macromolecules. The complementarity of fluorescence detection and atomic force microscopy holds great promise for investigation of any systems where the arrangement of biopolymers determines the macroscopic properties.
In this project, combined AFM and fluorescence microscopy experiments will be performed to get the detection of different families of proteins localized at the interface of emulsions. For that, simple interfaces will be considered as system models in which bovine proteins and/or vegetal proteins are used for the stabilization of a water/oil emulsion. AFM tips will be functionalized with pure and specific antibodies to allow specific AFM detection of the corresponding proteins at the interface.

Nanomechanical properties of the individual proteins and of the corresponding antibodies will also be probed by force spectroscopy to get information about the forces and kinetics involved in the breaking of ligand – receptor bonds and in the biopolymes interactions.

To apply: Applications with curriculum vitae, publication list and covering letter should be emailed or sent by post to:

Dr Cedric Gaillard
INRA - U.R. BIA
Rue de la Géraudière - BP 71627
44316 Nantes Cedex 03, France
Email: cedric.gaillard@nantes.inra.fr

The research will be mainly carried out at Nantes, in the Biopolymers Interaction Assembly laboratory, part of the Science and Process Engineering of Agricultural Products (CEPIA), a research division of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA).