Abstract
Membrane properties must support resident protein activity. One measurable property is the ‘packing free volume’ that quantifies the required breathing space for enzyme activity. Several important membrane properties, including area/molecule, collapse point, ‘lipid condensation’, surface elasticity and molecular ‘squeeze out’, have been assessed with lipid monolayers using a Langmuir Trough. It was demonstrated that lipids vary in their lateral compressibility. Cholesterol and di-saturated phospholipids are poorly compressible while polyunsaturated phospholipids are highly compressible. The lateral pressure of a biological membrane is estimated to be ~30–35 mN/m. Freeze Fracture EM has supplied direct evidence that proteins indeed reside inside membranes, that without cytoskeleton involvement there is no long-range order, observed order is only a few tenths of a micron, and the membrane bilayer sea is very crowded. Membrane domains can be roughly divided into large, stable macrodomains (e.g. gap junctions, clathrin-coated pits, caveolae) and small unstable lipid microdomains (e.g. lipid rafts). Membrane properties are maintained by Homeoviscous Adaptation.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
