A practical approach to the choice of a suitable detergent and optimal conditions for solubilizing a membrane protein

The main objective of this laboratory practical class was to teach students how a detergent and the best experimental conditions are chosen to solubilize a given membrane protein. Kidney Na,K-ATPase was chosen as the protein of interest and anionic, neutral and zwitterionic detergents were tested. Simple laboratory experiments were designed to study the effect of the detergent on the activity of the enzyme, the effect of detergent concentration on solubilization, the effect of protein concentration on enzyme solubilization, and the effect of time and temperature of incubation during enzyme solubilization. This resulted in the selection of an appropriate detergent for the solubilization of the protein taking into account smaller inactivation factors, more effective solubilization (more effective solubilization with a better detergent-protein relationship), lower inactivation temperature and time of incubation of the membrane protein with the detergent. The results obtained showed that instantaneous incubation of Na,K-ATPase with C(12)E(8) (1:1 w/w) at 4 degrees C resulted in a more efficient solubilization and had a smaller denaturing effect on the solubilized enzyme.