Mc. Wiener, Existing and emergent roles for surfactants in the three-dimensional crystallization of integral membrane proteins, CURR OP COL, 6(4), 2001, pp. 412-419
The determination of protein structures by X-ray crystallography necessitat
es the formation of well-ordered three-dimensional crystals that are grown
from protein solutions. For integral membrane proteins, the protein solute
consists of a protein surrounded by surfactant molecules; therefore, utiliz
ation of surfactant properties to improve the probability of membrane prote
in crystallization may provide the basis of rational crystallization method
s. Properties of surfactants that may be germane to membrane protein crysta
llization include consolute boundaries, the second virial coefficient B-22,
and critical phenomena. Also, the non-lamellar lipidic cubic phase (LCP) h
as been shown to be a unique matrix in which to form membrane protein cryst
als. These physical and physical-chemical descriptors of surfactants (or li
pids) are discussed in the context of relevance or potential relevance to t
hree-dimensional membrane protein crystallization. Other topics covered inc
lude the development of crystallization screens based upon surfactant prope
rties, novel surfactants, and the use of additives to improve crystal quali
ty. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.