| abstract |
The membrane scaffold protein (MSP) of the present invention assembles with hydrophobic or partially hydrophobic proteins to form soluble nanoscale particles that retain their natural structure and function; It is an improvement over liposomes and surfactant micelles in terms of retention of biological activity and natural shape. In the presence of phospholipids, MSP forms a nanoscale phospholipid bilayer disc, which stabilizes the particles around the bilayer domain. The particle bilayer structure allows manipulation of proteins incorporated in solution or on a solid support, including for use with surface sensitive techniques such as scanning probe microscopy or surface plasmon resonance. Nanoscale particles excel in terms of binding and maintaining the biological activity of incorporated proteins, facilitating pharmaceutical and biological research, structure / function relationships, structure determination, bioseparation, and drug development To. |