2
A P P L I C A T I O N N O T E
Membrane proteins are pivotal to cellular communication and signal transduction, making them
critical targets in drug discovery. Their involvement in numerous physiological and pathological
processes underscores their functional importance. However, the biophysical characterization of
membrane proteins poses unique challenges due to low expression levels, inherent instability out-
side biological membranes, and the necessity of preserving their native lipid environment for func-
tional studies. Traditional detergent-based solubilization strategies o en disrupt membrane protein
structure and function, complicating the interpretation of experimental results.
Cube Biotech's NativeMP™ Technology offers advanced synthetic copolymers, including Ultraso-
lute™ Amphipols (CyclAPols), AASTYs, Cubipols, SMAs, and DIBMAs, to stabilize membrane proteins
in their native environment without the use of detergents. This preserves their structural integrity
and associated lipid milieu, providing a robust foundation for reliable biophysical assays. Expand-
ing upon previous studies that combined the strengths of NativeMP™ Technology with the capa-
bilities of NanoTemper Technologies' Prometheus Panta instrument for stability assessments, this
application note investigates the integration of NativeMP™ Technology with NanoTemper Technolo-
gies' Monolith X instrument for precise binding affinity characterization.
Introduction
Figure 1: Class of copolymers included in the NativeMP
TM
Screening Kit.