Computational design of membrane proteins
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Updated: May 31, 2026

Realistic Membrane Modeling Using Complex Lipid Mixtures in Simulation Studies
Published on: September 1, 2023
1University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Biochemistry, 433 Babcock Dr., Madison, WI 53706, USA. senes@wisc.edu
Abstract:
This article reviews the recent successes of computational protein design techniques applied to integral membrane proteins. This emerging area is still handicapped by significant difficulties in the experimental characterization of the stability and structure of the designed proteins. Nevertheless, by focusing on oligomeric complexes of single-span transmembrane (TM) peptides with detectable activity, the computational design of membrane proteins has already produced very exciting results. The 'take-home message' is that optimization of van der Waals packing and hydrogen bonding (both 'canonical' and weak Cα-H⋯O bonds) can produce functional structures of remarkable stability and specificity in the membrane.
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