Liposomes: Applications in Protein-Lipid Interaction Studies

Liposomes are synthetic mimics of cellular membranes and represent an experimental system widely used for more than 30 yr in the field of biochemical research involving lipids. Liposomes typify a hallmark in the reductionist’s approach to biology: by controlling the nature and mole fraction of the lipids composing the liposomes, the investigator is able to precisely determine the effects of such lipids on the biological process under study. With few exceptions, lipids are generally hydrophobic in nature, a property traditionally making them difficult to study. Liposomes provide a way around the solubility problem and consequently make it feasible to study the roles of lipids in various cellular processes. The application of liposomes in biological and biochemical research today can be broadly classied into the following five categories:

1.	Studies on protein-lipid interactions.
2.	Studies on the regulation of protein function by lipids.
3.	Studies on membrane dynamics.
4.	Structural studies on membrane associated proteins.
5.	Delivery systems for biomolecules and small molecules into cells.