Lipid Bicelle Morphology Changed by Detergent

January 31, 2023
Lipid Bicelle Morphology Changed by Detergent
Addition of DDM (bottom) changes the geometry of DMPC/CHAPSO lipid assemblies. The influence of DDM is seen both below and above the known phase transition of the DMPC/CHAPSO system (10 and 38 °C, respectively)

Scientific Achievement

It is shown that presence of dodecylmaltoside (DDM) detergent changes lipid bicelle self-assemblies from anisometric geometry to less ordered, smaller-dimensioned and more isometric self-assemblies.

Significance and Impact

Single chain, mild detergents like DDM are required for extracting membrane proteins from the cell environment and knowing their influence on bicelle nanoscale morphology is important for optimizing lipid mimics for membrane biology research.

Research Details

  • Contrast variation small-angle neutron scattering revealed details of bicelles composed of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) / 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethyl- ammonio]-2-hydroxy-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPSO) below (10 °C) and above (38 °C) the phase transition.

"Change in Morphology of Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine/Bile Salt Derivative Bicelle Assemblies with Dodecylmaltoside in the Disk and Ribbon Phases"
Wellington C. Leite, Yuqi Wu, Sai Venkatesh Pingali, Raquel L. Lieberman, and Volker S. Urban
Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 13, 9834-9840 (2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c02445