Detergents & Lipids

Membrane proteins require the correct chemical environment to assume the proper fold(s) in order to mimic the three dimensional structure(s) found in vivo.  The use of detergents and phospholipids are used to achieve this as well as to maintain the stability of membrane proteins long enough to be studied by NMR.  Membrane proteins are most often studied in micelles, bicelles and constrained lipid bilayers such as those found in nano discs.  The use of deuterated detergents and phospholipids are quite valuable in detecting signals from the amino acid side chains with the minimum interference from signals arising from the detergent or lipid.