1 research outputs found
Chemically Stable Lipids for Membrane Protein Crystallization
The
lipidic cubic phase (LCP) has been widely recognized as a promising
membrane-mimicking matrix for biophysical studies of membrane proteins
and their crystallization in a lipidic environment. Application of
this material to a wide variety of membrane proteins, however, is
hindered due to a limited number of available host lipids, mostly
monoacylglycerols (MAGs). Here, we designed, synthesized, and characterized
a series of chemically stable lipids resistant to hydrolysis, with
properties complementary to the widely used MAGs. In order to assess
their potential to serve as host lipids for crystallization, we characterized
the phase properties and lattice parameters of mesophases made of
two most promising lipids at a variety of different conditions by
polarized light microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering. Both
lipids showed remarkable chemical stability and an extended LCP region
in the phase diagram covering a wide range of temperatures down to
4 °C. One of these lipids has been used for crystallization and
structure determination of a prototypical membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin
at 4 and 20 °C