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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Crystallizing Membrane Proteins for Structure Determination using Lipidic Mesophases
Published on: November 22, 2010
Crystallization of a globular protein in lipid cubic phase
S Tanaka1, S U Egelhaaf, W C K Poon
1School of Physics, The University of Edinburgh, JCMB, King's Buildings, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We studied the crystallization of a globular protein, lysozyme, in the cubic phase of the lipid mono-olein. The solubility of lysozyme in salt solution decreased by a factor of approximately 4 when confined in cubic phase. Monte Carlo simulations and calculations show that this can be explained by the confinement of lysozyme molecules to the narrow water cells in the cubic phase.
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