![Membrane protein purification using engineered micelles](/sites/default/files/2024-03/membrane.jpg)
■Membrane proteins comprise one third of the transcription products of human genome ■Associated with diverse human diseases and key target for drug development ■X-ray crystal structures of membrane proteins are scarce due to paucity of good quality crystals ■Developed a new crystallisation medium that relies on conjugation of micelles with hydrophobic chelator-metal complexes or hydrophobic nucleosides ■ Chelator-metal complexes or nucleoside base pairs formed at the interphase facilitate nucleation and crystallisation of membrane proteins ■ Simple methodology that can precipitate membrane proteins in their native environment ■ May be applicable to a diverse array of membrane proteins
Prof. I N Namboothiri