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Artificial lipids having peptides, oligosaccarides and cholesterols have been synthesized. Via optimized synthetic procedures, gram-scale preparations have become possible for these lipids. These artificial lipids show higher chemical purity and chemical stability than lipids separated from natural membrane extracts. The lipids associate in water to form molecular assemblies. Depending on the chemical structure of the lipids and temperature, they exhibit a variety of liquid crystalline phases, and adopt variegated morphologies. Applications to artificial biomembranes where membrane proteins stable function are in progress.
Molecular structure of artificial lipids
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