Dependence of lipid membrane phase transition temperature on the mismatch of protein and lipid hydrophobic thickness

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

A two-component solution theory is studied which incorporates hydrophobic matching as a major contribution to the lipid-protein interactions in biological membranes. A special geometrical constraint has been discovered which has important implications for the quantitative interpretation of physical effects to lipid-protein interactions. The theory has an advantage over conventional Landau-type phenomenological descriptions in that it accounts for phase separation. A certain class of experimental systems, photosynthetic reaction centre and antenna proteins reconstituted into synthetic lipid membranes of different hydrophobic thicknesses, are considered with a view to determining the parameters of the theory. The theoretical predictions are found to be in good agreement with experimental measurements of shifts in the phase transition temperature.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEuropean Biophysics Journal
Volume16
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)1-10
Number of pages10
ISSN0175-7571
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1988
Externally publishedYes

    Research areas

  • hydrophobic thickness, lipid membrane, lipid-protein interactions, membrane elasticity, phase diagram, solution theory

ID: 238390765