A Minimal Hydrophobicity Is Needed To Employ Amphiphilic p(HPMA)-co-p(LMA) Random Copolymers in Membrane Research

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• 作者：Michael Stangl ; Mirjam Hemmelmann ; Mareli Allmeroth ; Rudolf Zentel ; Dirk Schneider
• 刊名：Biochemistry
• 出版年：2014
• 出版时间：March 11, 2014
• 年：2014
• 卷：53
• 期：9
• 页码：1410-1419
• 全文大小：399K
• 年卷期：v.53,no.9(March 11, 2014)
• ISSN：1520-4995

文摘

Because a polymer environment might be milder than a detergent micelle, amphiphilic polymers have attracted attention as alternatives to detergents in membrane biochemistry. The polymer poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl)-methacrylamid] [p(HPMA)] has recently been modified with hydrophobic lauryl methacrylate (LMA) moieties, resulting in the synthesis of amphiphilic p(HPMA)-co-p(LMA) polymers. p(HPMA)-co-p(LMA) polymers with a LMA content of 5 or 15% have unstable hydrophobic cores. This, on one hand, promotes interactions of the hydrophobic LMA moieties with membranes, resulting in membrane rupture, but at the same time prevents formation of a hydrophobic, membrane mimetic environment that is sufficiently stable for the incorporation of transmembrane proteins. On the other hand, the p(HPMA)-co-p(LMA) polymer with a LMA content of 25% forms a stable hydrophobic core structure, which prevents hydrophobic interactions with membrane lipids but allows stable incorporation of membrane proteins. On the basis of our data, it becomes obvious that amphiphilic polymers have to have threshold hydrophobicities should an application in membrane protein research be anticipated.