Bicelles as model membranes for solid- and solution-state NMR studies of membrane peptides and proteins

Bicelles are an attractive membrane mimetic system because of their planar surface and lipid composition, which resemble biological membranes. in addition, their orientation and morphologic properties make them amenable to solid- and solution-state NMR. This article reviews the physical properties of bicelles, such as magnetic alignment and viscosity as well as the different models proposed in the literature to explain the bicelle morphology. The utility of bicelles for studying the interaction and structure of membrane peptides and proteins by solid- and solution-state NMR is also presented, along with the advantages and limitations of bicelles. (C) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.