Mathias Lösche

Professor of Physics, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Physics

Education

Ph.D., Technical University of Munich

Research

Our work focuses on the functional, structural and dynamic characterization of biomimetic membranes (that is, artificial and bilayer systems that are simpler than complex biological membranes but nevertheless capture some of their fundamental aspects) to understand these objects from a soft condensed matter perspective. For example, we use surface-sensitive x-ray and neutron scattering to identify, characterize, and optimize mimics formed as tethered bilayer lipid membranes (tBLMs) at solid/fluid interfaces. Optical microscopy techniques are used to assess their in-plane fluidity, dynamics, and 2D morphology. With this set of tools, we investigate experimentally the physical principles of membrane self-assembly and functionality. We also study the molecular origins of disease, through quantification of the membrane interactions of proteins and peptides, such as toxins and amyloids. These studies are contributing to a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms that result in Alzheimer's or premature aging. We are also interested in HIV assembly and lipid signalling.

Selected Publications

• Goh Haw Zan, Cheemeng Tan, Markus Deserno, Frederick Lanni, Mathias Lösche, Hemifusion of giant unilamellar vesicles with planar hydrophobic surfaces: a fluorescence microscopy study, Soft Matter 8, 10877 (2012)
• Siddharth S. Shenoy, Hirsh Nanda, Mathias Lösche, Membrane association of the PTEN tumor suppressor: Electrostatic interaction with phosphatidylserine-containing bilayers and regulatory role of the C-terminal tail, Journal of Structural Biology 180, 394 (2012)
• Siddharth Shenoy, Prabhanshu Shekhar, Frank Heinrich, Marie-Claire Daou, Arne Gericke, Alonzo H. Ross, Mathias Lösche, Membrane Association of the PTEN Tumor Suppressor: Molecular Details of the Protein-Membrane Complex from SPR Binding Studies and Neutron Reflection, PLoS ONE 7, e32591 (2012)
• Maria I. Lioudyno et al., Effect of Synthetic Aβ Peptide Oligomers and Fluorinated Solvents on Kv1.3 Channel Properties and Membrane Conductance, PLoS ONE 7, e35090 (2012)
• Prabhanshu Shekhar, Hirsh Nanda, Mathias Lösche, Frank Heinrich, Continuous distribution model for the investigation of complex molecular architectures near interfaces with scattering techniques, Journal of Applied Physics 110, 102216 (2011)
• Peter N Yaron, Brian D Holt, Philip A Short, Mathias Lösche, Mohammad F Islam, Kris Dahl, Single wall carbon nanotubes enter cells by endocytosis and not membrane penetration, Journal of Nanobiotechnology 9, 45 (2011)
• Hirsh Nanda, Siddhartha A.K. Datta, Frank Heinrich, Mathias Lösche, Alan Rein, Susan Krueger, Joseph E. Curtis, Electrostatic Interactions and Binding Orientation of HIV-1 Matrix Studied by Neutron Reflectivity, Biophysical Journal 99, 2516 (2010)
• Paulius Cizas, Rima Budvytyte, Ramune Morkuniene, Radu Moldovan, Matteo Broccio, Mathias Lösche, Gediminas Niaura, Gintaras Valincius, Vilmante Borutaite, Size-dependent neurotoxicity of β-amyloid oligomers, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 496, 84 (2010)
• Stephen A. Holt, Anton P. Le Brun, Charles F. Majkrzak, Duncan J. McGillivray, Frank Heinrich, Mathias Lösche, Jeremy H. Lakey, An ion-channel-containing model membrane: structural determination by magnetic contrast neutron reflectometry, Soft Matter 5, 2576 (2009)
• Duncan J. McGillivray, Gintaras Valincius, Frank Heinrich, Joseph W.F. Robertson, David J. Vanderah, Wilma Febo-Ayala, Ilja Ignatjev, Mathias Lösche, John J. Kasianowicz, Structure of Functional Staphylococcus aureus α-Hemolysin Channels in Tethered Bilayer Lipid Membranes, Biophysical Journal 96, 1547 (2009)
• Frank Heinrich, Tiffany Ng, David J. Vanderah, Prabhanshu Shekhar, Mihaela Mihailescu, Hirsh Nanda, Mathias Lösche, A New Lipid Anchor for Sparsely Tethered Bilayer Lipid Membranes, Langmuir 25, 4219 (2009)
• Gintaras Valincius, Frank Heinrich, Rima Budvytyte, David J. Vanderah, Duncan J. McGillivray, Yuri Sokolov, James E. Hall, Mathias Lösche, Soluble Amyloid β-Oligomers Affect Dielectric Membrane Properties by Bilayer Insertion and Domain Formation: Implications for Cell Toxicity, Biophysical Journal 95, 4845 (2008)
• Joseph A. Dura et al., AND/R: Advanced neutron diffractometer/reflectometer for investigation of thin films and multilayers for the life sciences, Review of Scientific Instruments 77, 074301 (2006)
• J. Pittler, W. Bu, D. Vaknin, A. Travesset, D. McGillivray, M. Lösche, Charge Inversion at Minute Electrolyte Concentrations, Physical Review Letters 97, 046102 (2006)
• David Vaknin, Peter Krüger, Mathias Lösche, Anomalous X-Ray Reflectivity Characterization of Ion Distribution at Biomimetic Membranes, Physical Review Letters 90, 178102 (2003)