OMG OMVs!

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are natural secretions by gram-negative bacteria that can transport various proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids in interactions with mammalian host cells. OMV technology presents an affordable, non-toxic, and direct method of drug delivery and antigen tracking. We have designed a method for visualizing the interactions of mammalian cells with outer membrane vesicles by utilizing the ClyA surface protein as an attachment site for fluorescent proteins. The current goal of this project is to characterize the distribution of varying ClyA-fluorescent protein complexes on OMVs. Future work will be to develop a tracking system employing a ClyA-fluorescent protein construct for in vitro microscope imaging. An antibody fragment will also be attached to another ClyA complex, allowing the OMV tracking system to target specific regions of an organism. This method allows in vitro characterization of OMVs and provides integral data for developing a future OMV delivery platform in vivo.