The role of fatty acid binding proteins in the binding and transport of lipophilic drugs

Poorly water-soluble drugs must cross the aqueous cytoplasm of intestinal cells if they are to be absorbed following oral administration. The mechanisms by which this occurs are currently unknown. We have shown that some lipophilic drugs are capable of binding to cytosolic transport proteins called fatty acid binding proteins (FABPs). We propose to use a range of physical techniques including NMR spectroscopy, calorimetry and fluorescence firstly to identify the nature of drug binding to FABP and secondly to determine the effect of binding on drug transport.