AMPHIPOLS: Labeled or functionalized derivatives of A8-35
Radiolabeled APols have been synthesized so as to follow the distribution of the polymers in biochemistry experiments and to help assessing the amount of APol bound per trapped MP (9, 24). Deuterated A8-35 has been most useful in SANS experiments (7-9), in NMR studies (14, 19, 36), and in AUC experiments (8, 9).
At variance with detergents, APols are large molecules. A single functional group attached to the polymer, such as a fluorescent NBD group, does not affect its physical chemical properties (12). Other functionalized APols carry different fluorescent labels, such as fluorescein or rhodamine (unpublished data), or other functional groups, such as a biotin (16). Some of their uses are be briefly described in the section on Applications.
