Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
chor where a chemical group on the peptide can react with the surface to form
a covalent bond [17].
Whitesides and coworkers developed a microcontact printing technology
that combines semi-conducting industry fabrication, chemistry and polymer
science to produce defined features on a surface down to the micrometer
or nanometer scale [46-48]. Following microcontact printing, a surface can
be functionalized with different molecules using a variety of methods which
have now been modified with a variety of chemical compounds. Furthermore,
peptides and proteins as inks have also been printed onto surfaces. This de-
velopment has spurred new research into the control of molecular and cellular
patterning, cell morphology and cellular interactions, and fueled new tech-
nology development. Peptide or protein inks have been directly printed on
surfaces to allow adhesion molecules to interact with cells and adhere to the
surface (Fig. 2) [49].
2.5
Peptide Surfactants/Detergents
Peptide surfactants or detergents stabilize membrane proteins, although
membrane proteins make up approximately one-third of total cellular pro-
teins and carry out some of the most important functions in cells, only several
dozen membrane protein structures have been elucidated. This is in strik-
ing contrast to about 33 000 non-membrane protein structures that have been
solved [50, 51].
The main reason for this delay is the difficulty in purifying and crystalliz-
ing membrane proteins because removal of lipids from membrane proteins
Fig. 3 Peptide surfactants of A6D and V6D. These simple self-assembling peptide surfac-
tant/detergents can be used to solubilize, stabilize and crystallize membrane proteins
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search