Issue 15, 2022

Fluorescent styrene maleic acid copolymers to facilitate membrane protein studies in lipid nanodiscs

Abstract

Fluorescently-labelled variants of poly(styrene-co-maleic acid), SMA, have been synthesised by RAFT copolymerisation. We show that low ratios of vinyl fluorophores, analogous to styrene, can be successfully incorporated during polymerisation without detriment to nanodisc formation upon interaction with lipids. These novel copolymers are capable of encapuslating lipids and the model membrane protein, gramicidin, and hence have the potential to be applied in fluorescence-based biological studies. To demonstrate this, energy transfer is used to probe polymer–protein interactions in nanodiscs. The copolymers may also be used to monitor nanodisc self assembly by exploiting aggregation-caused-quenching (ACQ).

Graphical abstract: Fluorescent styrene maleic acid copolymers to facilitate membrane protein studies in lipid nanodiscs

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
01 Nov 2021
Accepted
15 Mar 2022
First published
17 Mar 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 5689-5693

Fluorescent styrene maleic acid copolymers to facilitate membrane protein studies in lipid nanodiscs

G. M. Neville, K. J. Edler and G. J. Price, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 5689 DOI: 10.1039/D1NR07230G

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