Abstract
Models representing the internal arrangement of lipid and protein of cell membranes continue to be debated with little new structural evidence to decide between them. X-ray diffraction is limited to the situation that the membranes occur, or can be placed, in very regular stacks to give a total thickness of at least 0.5 mm. Isolated preparations of membrane fragments cannot yet be packed sufficiently well for this X-rapurpose, andy patterns are obtained only after partial drying of the pellet of membranes. Such patterns are likely to result from re-crystallization of the lipid which occurs during the drying. By far, the best material for X-ray diffraction studies of membranes is the well stacked myelin of peripheral nerves. Six orders of exact diffraction data can be obtained and the reflections can be phased by a new heavy metal labelling technique. This material makes possible a close comparison between the structure indicated by the calculated electron density distribution across the membrane and the structure revealed directly by electron microscopy.
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Schedule a callMore From: Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America
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