Dendritic Oligoglycerol Regioisomer Mixtures and Their Utility for Membrane Protein Research

Dendrons are an important class of macromolecules that can be used for a broad range of applications. Recent studies have indicated that mixtures of oligoglycerol detergent (OGD) regioisomers are superior to individual regioisomers for protein extraction. The origin of this phenomenon remains puzzling. Here we discuss the synthesis and characterization of dendritic oligoglycerol regioisomer mixtures and their implementation into detergents. We provide experimental benchmarks to support quality control after synthesis and investigate the unusual utility of OGD regioisomer mixtures for extracting large protein quantities from biological membranes. We anticipate that our findings will enable the development of mixed detergent platforms in the future.
The secret lies in the mix: Regioisomer mixtures of dendritic oligoglycerol detergents have recently attracted attention from experimentalist in membrane protein research. The present study outlines the synthesis of detergent regioisomer mixtures and sheds light on their utility for the purification of membrane proteins. The obtained results point to new avenues for the development of lipid‐like detergent mixtures in membrane protein research.