Chemical and Photochemical Dual Polymerization in a Mixed Langmuir Monolayer of Diacetylene Derivatives and Octadecyltrimethoxysilane

How to gather useful and valuable information from protein binding measurements using Langmuir lipid monolayers

This review presents data on the influence of various experimental parameters on the binding of proteins onto Langmuir lipid monolayers. The users of the Langmuir methodology are often unaware of the importance of choosing appropriate experimental conditions to validate the data acquired with this method. The protein Retinitis pigmentosa 2 (RP2) has been used throughout this review to illustrate the influence of these experimental parameters on the data gathered with Langmuir monolayers. The methods detailed in this review include the determination of protein binding parameters from the measurement of adsorption isotherms, infrared spectra of the protein in solution and in monolayers, ellipsometric isotherms and fluorescence micrographs.

Comparison between the behavior of different hydrophobic peptides allowing membrane anchoring of proteins

Membrane binding of proteins such as short chain dehydrogenase reductases or tail-anchored proteins relies on their N- and/or C-terminal hydrophobic transmembrane segment. In this review, we propose guidelines to characterize such hydrophobic peptide segments using spectroscopic and biophysical measurements. The secondary structure content of the C-terminal peptides of retinol dehydrogenase 8, RGS9-1 anchor protein, lecithin retinol acyl transferase, and of the N-terminal peptide of retinol dehydrogenase 11 has been deduced by prediction tools from their primary sequence as well as by using infrared or circular dichroism analyses. Depending on the solvent and the solubilization method, significant structural differences were observed, often involving α-helices. The helical structure of these peptides was found to be consistent with their presumed membrane binding. Langmuir monolayers have been used as membrane models to study lipid-peptide interactions. The values of maximum insertion pressure obtained for all peptides using a monolayer of 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-ethanolamine (DOPE) are larger than the estimated lateral pressure of membranes, thus suggesting that they bind membranes. Polarization modulation infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy has been used to determine the structure and orientation of these peptides in the absence and in the presence of a DOPE monolayer. This lipid induced an increase or a decrease in the organization of the peptide secondary structure. Further measurements are necessary using other lipids to better understand the membrane interactions of these peptides.

Modern physicochemical research on Langmuir monolayers

Recent developments in characterising Langmuir monolayers of a variety of film-forming materials and employing several physicochemical techniques are reviewed. The extension of the LB method to non-amphiphilic substances, especially macromolecular systems, has increased the need of a thorough understanding of Langmuir film properties, which requires characterising techniques that provide complementary information. Since there is vast literature in the subject, only selected examples are given of results that illustrate the potential of the techniques discussed.