Natural toxins and their synthetic analogues as tools to study ion channels and as potential drugs and pesticides

About the project

About the Project The project will use a combination of electrophysiological techniques such as voltage-clamp and patch-clamp with molecular biology and protein expression to understand how natural neurotoxins and their synthetic analogues act on ion channels in the nervous system and other excitable tissues. This project will study the modes and sites of action of the toxins and assess their suitability for development as novel therapeutic agents or pesticides. Sources of active compounds that we are presently exploring include centipede venom and ladybird defensive secretions, but we can consider other novel sources. The project could also be directed towards the study of existing ion channel drugs and pesticides in order to better understand their modes and sites of action or to investigate problems in their use such as insecticide resistance and toxicity towards humans and beneficial organisms. These studies also reveal much about the structure and function of ion channels.

Research areas