Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29980293›Full record

ArticleBiophysical journal2018

Molecular Mechanism of Lipid Nanodisk Formation by Styrene-Maleic Acid Copolymers.

Minmin Xue, Lisheng Cheng, Ignacio Faustino, Wanlin Guo, Siewert J Marrink

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Biophysical journal, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed
4.4field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 82 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Poly(styrene-ACS omega · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Cooperative Ligand-Mediated Transitions in Simple Macromolecules.The journal of physical chemistry. B · 2025
    Article
  5. Amphiphilic Copolymers and Their Role in the Study of Membrane Proteins.The journal of physical chemistry letters · 2025
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Purification of Potassium Ion Channels Using Styrene-Maleic Acid Copolymers.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2024
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Minmin XueState Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Nanoscience, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, People's Republic of China; Groningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Lisheng ChengCollege of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Ignacio FaustinoGroningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
Wanlin GuoState Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control of Mechanical Structures, Key Laboratory for Intelligent Nano Materials and Devices of the Ministry of Education, Institute of Nanoscience, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
Siewert J MarrinkGroningen Biomolecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands. Electronic address: s.j.marrink@rug.nl.
University of Groningen · NLBeijing University of Chemical Technology · CNNanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Experimental characterization of membrane proteins often requires solubilization. A recent approach is to use styrene-maleic acid (SMA) copolymers to isolate membrane proteins in nanometer-sized membrane disks, or so-called SMA lipid particles (SMALPs). The approach has the advantage of allowing direct extraction of proteins, keeping their native lipid environment. Despite the growing popularity of using SMALPs, the molecular mechanism behind the process remains poorly understood. Here, we unravel the molecular details of the nanodisk formation by using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. We show how SMA copolymers bind to the lipid bilayer interface, driven by the hydrophobic effect. Due to the concerted action of multiple adsorbed copolymers, large membrane defects appear, including small, water-filled pores. The copolymers can stabilize the rim of these pores, leading to pore growth and membrane disruption. Although complete solubilization is not seen on the timescale of our simulations, self-assembly experiments show that small nanodisks are the thermodynamically preferred end state. Our findings shed light on the mechanism of SMALP formation and on their molecular structure. This can be an important step toward the design of optimized extraction tools for membrane protein research.

Indexed as

LipidsMaleatesMolecular ConformationMolecular Dynamics SimulationNanostructuresPolystyrenesPorosityLipidsMaleatesPolystyrenesstyrene-maleic acid polymer

Identifiers

PMID29980293
PMCPMC6084417
OpenAlexW2809186947

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.