Structure and Functional Characterization of Membrane Integral Proteins in the Lipid Cubic Phase

The lipid cubic phase (LCP) has been used extensively as a medium for crystallizing membrane proteins. It is an attractive environment in which to perform such studies because it incorporates a lipid bilayer. It is therefore considered a useful and a faithful biomembrane mimetic. Here, we bring together evidence that supports this view. Biophysical characterizations are described demonstrating that the cubic phase is a porous medium into and out...