ORDERED TWO- AND THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURES OF AMPHIPHILIC MOLECULES

摘要

The invention pertains to a method for forming an ordered structure of amphiphilic molecules, such as proteins. The method includes contacting a population of amphiphilic molecules with a interface; compressing said population laterally to an appropriate pressure, such that an ordered structure at the interface is formed. The invention also pertains to the two- and three- dimensional ordered structures that are formed using the planar membrane compression method of the invention, e.g. ordered two- or three- dimensional crystals of membrane proteins.