Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
THE DEVELOPMENT AND
APPLICATION OF CLICKABLE LIPID
ANALOGS FOR ELUCIDATING AND
HARNESSING LIPID FUNCTIONS
MICHAEL D. BEST
4.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE ADVANTAGES OF APPLYING CLICK
CHEMISTRY FOR STUDYING LIPIDS
In many respects, lipids represent overachieving constituents within the context of
complex biological systems. From what initially appeared to be relatively simple
structures, it is now apparent that lipids govern numerous critical biological processes.
For instance, lipids directly regulate the function and localization of a litany of
proteins, and in doing so, control vital physiological pathways via roles including
protein-membrane-binding events [1, 2] and the covalent lipidation of protein targets
[3]. In addition, lipids control the transport of materials via vesicle budding and
fusion [4]. Furthermore, advancements resulting from studies of lipid biological
activities have fueled interest in pursuing applications that exploit these properties.
For example, lipids have been heavily pursued for a wide range of endeavors such as
the delivery of drugs, genes, and imaging agents [5-8], as well as the development
of model systems that can be used to mimic the native membrane environments of
lipids [9-12]. As such, the interest in understanding and harnessing the power of
lipids has grown considerably over the years. However, these efforts have been met
with a number of technical challenges that result from the nature of lipids, such as
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