The interaction between purple membrane and membrane lipid

Bacteriorhodopsin in purple membrane was reconstituted into different lipid vesicles. The effect of three different lipids on the structure and function of bacteriorhodopsin in lipid vesicles was studied by the observation on freeze-fracture eletron microscopy, the rotational diffusion of bacteriorhodopsin in lipid vesicles, the measurement of absorption spectrum, and the absorbance change with time. For these prepared samples, the results showed that DMPC was the stable lipid environment of bacteriorhodopsin; egg-pe causeed the loss of retinal chromophore of bacteriorhodopsin and it was not reversible change, cholesterol could stabilize the bacteriorhodopsin in lipid environment, but it caused the aggregation of bacteriorhodopsin.