Corso di laurea magistrale in Chimica Clinica Forense e dello Sport

Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is a membrane protein that degrades members of the endocannabinoid class of signaling lipids in the brain and terminates their activity. Inhibition of FAAH activity, which increases the levels of endocannabinoids, is implicated in the treatment of pain, inflammation and many other disorders. Therefore, compounds that inhibit this enzyme have medical and therapeutic significance.

The proposed project aims at creating an optical biosensor for testing new inhibitors of FAAH enzyme. This will be achieved by engineering mutants of the FAAH protein with specific sites for attachment of fluorescent probes. This combined genetic and chemical modification places the fluorescent probes close to the binding pocket of the enzyme and therefore capable of detecting inhibitor binding.

Different techniques will be used including in silico docking, site-directed mutagenesis, protein expression in heterologous systems, chromatography and fluorescence spectroscopy.