Proteins in their natural habitat

Proteins which reside in the membrane of cells play a key role in many biological processes and provide targets for more than half of current drug treatments. These membrane proteins are notoriously difficult to study in their natural environment, but scientists at the University of Oxford have now developed a technique to do just that, combining the use of sophisticated nanodiscs and mass spectrometers. Mass spectrometry is a technique which allows scientists to probe molecular interactions. Using a high-tech 'nanoflow' system, molecules are transmitted into the instrument in charged water droplets, which then undergo evaporation releasing molecules into the gas phase of the mass spectrometer. But membrane proteins are difficult to measure in this way, as they are hydrophobic: they don't dissolve in water. One way to overcome this problem is to mix them with detergents. Detergents work by surrounding insoluble substances with a water-friendly shell.