Hydrophobic variants of ganglio-tripod amphiphiles for membrane protein manipulation

Membrane proteins operate in unique cellular environments. Once removed from their native context for the purification that is required for most types of structural or functional analyses, they are prone to denature if not properly stabilized by membrane mimetics. Detergent micelles have prominently been used to stabilize membrane proteins in aqueous environments as their amphipathic nature allows for shielding of the hydrophobic surfaces of these bio-macromolecules while supporting solubility and monodispersity in water. This study expands the utility of branched diglucoside-bearing tripod agents, designated ganglio-tripod amphiphiles, with introduction of key variations in their hydrophobic sections and shows how these latter elements can be fine-tuned to maximize membrane protein solubilization while preserving characteristics of these molecules that afford stabilization of rather fragile assemblies. Their efficacy rivals benchmark detergents heavily used today, such as n-dodecyl-β-d-maltoside.This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (grant number 2008-0061891 and 2012R1A1A1040964 to P.S.C., K.H.C., H.E.B.) and NIH grant P01 GM75913 (S.H.G., P.D.L., M.J.W.)