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Updated: Jul 26, 2025

Assembly of Cell Mimicking Supported and Suspended Lipid Bilayer Models for the Study of Molecular Interactions
Published on: August 3, 2021
Recent advances in membrane mimetics for membrane protein research
1Department of Chemistry, Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K.
Abstract:
Membrane proteins are a highly relevant class of biological molecules and comprise ∼60% of current drug targets. Before being analyzed by structural, biochemical, and biophysical methods, membrane proteins must first be extracted from cellular membranes - often using detergents. Detergent-extracted membrane proteins are amenable to analysis by structural, biochemical, and biophysical techniques. In certain cases, however, detergents can disturb native protein conformations and/or biological activity. This has led to the development of membrane mimetics, which stabilize membrane proteins in a native membrane-like environment that is water-soluble and detergent-free. This review provides an overview of recent developments in the membrane mimetic field, with a focus on nanodiscs, Saposin lipid nanoparticles (SapNPs), peptidiscs, and SMA lipid particles (SMALPs) - and highlights their utility for supporting biophysical, biochemical, and structural characterization of membrane proteins and complexes.
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