Solubilization of PNS myelin membrane proteins by detergents

We have applied 25 different detergents to the PNS myelin membrane. The extracts produced were analyzed regarding the total amount of protein solubilized, and which myelin glycoproteins were solubilized. The degree of protein extraction was correlated with the critical micelle concentration. For some detergents the protein extraction ability depends clearly on critical micelle concentration. These detergents are more potent if critical micelle concentration is small. The other type of extraction is independent on the critical micelle concentration, but extractability of proteins is low. The best detergents for solubilization of myelin proteins are neutral of the alkyl chain length n =9-11, as follows: dodecyl-beta-D-maltopyranoside, decyl-beta-D-maltopyranoside, n-dodecylsulfobetaine. We expect that these detergents will also be suitable for crystallization of P0 and PASII/PMP22 glycoproteins.