subject: Solubilization- An Overview [print this page] The action and effect of drugs and biochemical complexes can only be understood if we can track how these chemicals reach a human cell rather then the spot of action. To comprehend the drug delivery it is necessary to learn about the function and structure of cell membranes. The proteins present in human cells need to be isolated in order to understand this process.
The characterization and isolation of cell membrane proteins can be done with the help of separation of a variety of glycoproteins and membrane proteins and solubilization of membrane. We have to begin our research by choosing a proper surfactant detergent so as to solubilise the membrane. There are many types of surfactants available for membrane solubilisation and we require considering all of them separately with respect to their characteristics.
About 25% of proteins present in living organisms are membrane proteins. These compounds contribute to several critical functions like signal transduction and synthesis of biomolecules. The membrane proteins are retrieved from a lipid bilayer and then solubilized with the help of detergent for detecting biochemical characterization. Solubilization is gravely influenced by the following factors-
Nature
Type of surfactant-
.the nature of interaction of surfactants with the membranes
.the role played by the surfactant to separate the integral membrane protein
.reconstitution of membrane protein for practical study
Structure of the solubilizate
Structure of the solubilizer
Presence of additives (for eg. electrolutes)
Temperature
The solubilization of protein for biochemical characterization is an experiential technique. In order to allow characterization, sometimes insufficient amount of the compound are solubilised in an aqueous buffer. Membrane protein solubilization from microzomes can be enhanced with the addition of polyamines and alkylamines to the buffer containing detergent.
It was found that if spermidine is added to the solubilization buffer, the solubilization of polygalacturonic acid synthase which is limited to the plant Golgi membrane, can be aggravated by as much as 9.9-fold. These additives also improved the solubilization of various other plant membrane proteins which are found in other organelles like plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi-confined membrane protein of an animal. Solubilization also occurs in water. The rate of solubility is boosted by surfactant micelles.
These are capable of solubilizing almost all the organic molecules present in water. The technique of this process involves the assimilation of organic molecule of water into the micelle. It is important to note that elongated micelles will always have a larger core volume than spherical forms. The term core refers to per molecule surfactant.
