title: Synthesis and preliminary biochemical assessment of ethyl-terminated perfluoroalkylamine oxide surfactants.
abstract: The synthesis and usefulness in membrane biochemistry of a new class of surfactants have been investigated. 1-Ethyl-2-dimethylamine oxide polar heads were grafted onto a hydrocarbon, a fluorocarbon or an ethyl-capped fluorocarbon hydrophobic tail. The ability of the resulting surfactants to extract and/or to stabilize in aqueous solution a test membrane protein, cytochrome b(6)f, was evaluated. While it is not a detergent, the hemifluorinated derivative efficiently kept purified cytochrome b(6)f soluble, native and functional. The data suggest that alkyl-capped fluorocarbon surfactants provide an interesting alternative to classical detergents for handling membrane proteins in aqueous solutions under non-dissociating conditions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Chimie Bioorganique et des Systèmes Moléculaires Vectoriels, Faculté des Sciences, Université d'Avignon, 33 rue Louis Pasteur, F-84000 Avignon, France.
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chaudier
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zito
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Barthélémy
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stroebel
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Améduri
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Popot
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pucci
mesh_terms: D003573:Cytochrome b Group / Q000378:metabolism; D045346:Cytochrome b6f Complex; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003573:Cytochrome b Group; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D045346:Cytochrome b6f Complex