Membrane-drug interactions studied using model membrane systems

The direct interaction of drugs with the cell membrane is often neglected when drug effects are studied. Systematic investigations are hindered by the complexity of the natural membrane and model membrane systems can offer a useful alternative. Here some examples are reviewed of how model membrane architectures including vesicles, Langmuir monolayers and solid supported membranes can be used to investigate the effects of drug molecules on the membrane structure, and how these interactions can translate into effects on embedded membrane proteins. (C) 2015 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.