Synthesis, Characterization, and Nanodisc formation of Non-ionic Polymers

Abstract

Despite lipid-nanodiscs are increasingly used in the structural studies of membrane proteins, drug delivery and other applications, the interaction between the nanodisc-belt and the protein to be reconstituted is a major limitation. To overcome this limitation and to further broaden the scope of nanodiscs, a family of non-ionic amphiphilic polymers synthesized by hydrophobic functionalization of fructo-oligosaccharides/inulin is reported. We show the stability of lipid-nanodiscs formed by these polymers against pH and divalent metal ions, and their magnetic-alignment properties. The reported results also demonstrate that the non-ionic polymers extract membrane proteins with unprecedented efficiency.