Polymerized model biomembranes

Abstract

AbstractOver the past two decades lipid bilayer membranes have served as effective models for biomembranes. Pure lipid membranes allow investigators to probe the behavior of different classes of lipids in lamellar and nonlamellar phases. Nonlamellar phases are of current interest because of their considerable importance in cellular permeability, fusion, endo‐ and exocytosis. The reconstitution of biological membranes from purified protein and lipid components has proven to be a convenient method for the study of protein‐lipid interactions and membrane protein functionality. The introduction of methods to polymerize lipid bilayers in the early 1980s, now provides researchers with new ways to prepare and characterize model biomembranes. This report summarizes three areas of research on polymerized model membranes: 1) the enhancement of chemical stability and reduction in bilayer permeability by polymerization of single component membranes; 2) the polymerization induced domain formation in two‐component membranes, which is accompanied by membrane destabilization when one of the lipid components prefers a nonlamellar structure; and 3) the successful reconstitution of a purified delipidated membrane protein, rhodopsin, into partially polymerized bilayer membranes with retention of both protein functionality and phospholipid surface biocompatibility.