Investigating the behaviour of Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphiles (SSAs) on ovarian cancer cells.

Ovarian cancer has been found to be the leading cause of death among women, with risks increasing with age. Self-associating antimicrobials (SSAs) were invented and have been found to enhance the activity of cisplatin in ovarian cancer cells therefore these SSAs were investigated on both cisplatin resistant and cisplatin sensitive cell lines. The aim of this project was to investigate the intrinsically fluorescent SSA48 and how it enters both cisplatin sensitive and cisplatin resistant cell lines. The methods used in this investigation include SRB assays, GI50 determination, live cell imaging and Laurdan imaging. Live cell imaging showed rapid plasma membrane association of SSA48 on both A2780 and CisR cell lines within 3-4 minutes of addition. The image data analysis showed a higher number of cells reaching higher intensities at early time points in the CisR cell line compared to the A2780 which showed a larger quantity of cells towards the end of the time course. Laurdan image analysis suggested A2780 cell line as having a more ridged/gel phase plasma membrane versus CisR cell line that has a more fluid/liquid phase plasma membrane. In conclusion the CisR cell line shows more rapid association with SSA48 than in the A2780 cell line, this could be due to the more fluid membrane that is suggested by the Laurdan analysis.