Dear colleagues,
in estimating the solvent content of membrane protein crystals it
would only seem reasonable that micelle size should also be taken into
account. Depending on the aggregation number and MW of a given
detergent, the concentation of detergent used, and the buffer
conditions, one may have micelles on the order of 15-25 kDa or even
35-50 kDa for detergents with alkyl chains of more than 10 carbons.
However, when I took a look in a handful of papers reporting Matthews'
numbers for membrane protein crystals, it became apparent that only
the protein MW is used in such estimates. I am beginning to wonder if
one should even bother reporting a Matthews number for a membrane
protein crystal given the uncertainties surrounding size and role of
micelles in crystal packing.
Any thoughts on this?
best wishes
Savvas
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