AVS 46th International Symposium
    Biomaterial Interfaces Group Tuesday Sessions
       Session BI-TuP

Paper BI-TuP17
Thiopeptide-Tethered Lipid Bilayers for the Incorporation of the Enzyme Complex Cytochrome c Oxidase

Tuesday, October 26, 1999, 5:30 pm, Room 4C

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: H.D. Lauer, Max-Planck-Institut for Polymer Research, Germany
Authors: H.D. Lauer, Max-Planck-Institut for Polymer Research, Germany
E.K. Schmidt, Lab. for Exotic Nanomaterials Frontier Research Program, Japan
R. Naumann, Max-Planck-Institut for Polymer Research, Germany
A. Offenhäusser, Max-Planck-Institut for Polymer Reseach, Germany
W. Knoll, Max-Planck-Institut for Polymer Research, Germany
Correspondent: Click to Email
Lipid bilayers form the basic structure of biological membrane due to which membrane proteins are able to carry out their specific functions. Membrane proteins have precisely designed moving parts whose mechanical actions are coupled to chemical events. This coupling of chemistry and movement is the reason why membrane proteins play the predominant role in most biological processes. Without a better understanding how proteins operate, it is very difficult to apreciate cell biology. Therefore in the last few years a number of model systems have been developed to create a biomimetic system. To retain the functionality of an incorporated membrane protein, the lipid bilayer should be fluid and the membrane/protein-complex has to be to some extent spatially decoupled from the substrate. Without this decoupling from the surface, the protein denatures. A number of spacers are well known to decouple the membrane/protein-complex from the gold substrate and preserve a thin water reservoir between lipid and the gold.@footnote 1, 2, 3@ We present here a biomimetic system utilising thiopeptides as spacer molecules chemisorbed onto a gold surface and covalently attached to lipid layer.@footnote 4@ This system is used to incorporate the membrane protein cytochrome c oxidase, a key enzyme in the cell respiration. Optical and electrochemical characterisation methods are used to obtain more information about the architecture and the operation of the membrane/protein-complex. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@ Cornell, B.A. et al., Nature, 387, 1997, 580 @footnote 2@ Vogel, H. et al., J. Phys. Chem., 99, 1995, 1038 @footnote 3@ Evans, S.D. et al., Langmuir, 13, 1997, 751 @footnote 4@ Naumann, R., et al., Angew. Chem., 107, 1995, 2168.