This book focuses on the study of how the properties of nanodiscs such as lipid composition
and size influence the function of the embedding integral membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin.
The author performed systematic studies to show that the lipid composition and the charge of
the hydrophobic head and the structure of hydrophilic tails affect the photocycle pathway of
bacteriorhodopsin which is closely associated with its proton-pumping activity. Furthermore
the author demonstrated a highly efficient method for extracting membrane proteins directly
from the biological membrane preserving protein conformation function and essential native
lipids. This book demonstrates optimization and sample preparation and presents practical
methods of preparing membrane protein-embedded nanodisc samples for biophysical studies which
benefit structural and functional studies in the field of membrane protein characterization
both.
