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Plastic-Protein Hybrids
December 11, 2000Functional membrane proteins in a block copolymer matrix
Biological membranes form a fluid matrix, in which proteins "swim". Many of these
membrane proteins are of interest for both pharmacological and biotechnological applications -
for example, they are under consideration as biosensors for the rapid screening of pharmaceutical
agents. This requires the proteins to be anchored in an artificial membrane. In contrast to natural
membranes, which are simultaneously highly flexible and enormously stable, the material
properties of artificial membranes generally leave a lot to be desired.
A French-Swiss research team has now developed a new type of matrix for membrane
proteins. This allows them to produce dense, extensive, planar membranes.
Natural membranes are made of lipids. Every lipid molecule has a water-soluble "head" and
a non-water-soluble "tail". Thus, in an aqueous medium, these lipids stick tightly together, tail-to-tail,
while their heads protrude into the solution. This is how a lipid bilayer is formed.
However, it isn't only lipids that can form such membrane-like superstructures. Man-made
polymers that are built up in a similar head-tail fashion can also aggregate into "membranes". By
varying the molecular composition of these plastics, known as block copolymers, it is possible to
generate specific membranes with a whole range of different properties.
Wolfgang Meier, Corinne Nardin and Mathias Winterhalter built proteins that form channels
in biological membranes into their artificial polymer membranes. Afterward, the polymer
molecules were cross-linked using UV light - to form a giant molecule. Conductivity
measurements demonstrated that the proteins kept their biological functionality, even in this
unnatural environment.
"It is clear that we can incorporate fully functional membrane proteins in our artificial
matrix," Meier is pleased to say. "This allows us to combine the high stability and variability of
artificial membranes with the specific functions of biological proteins." Meier predicts that the
new protein-polymer hybrid materials will have a wide range of applications in areas such as
diagnostics, sensor technology, protein crystallization and controlled release of pharmaceuticals.
WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH
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