The structure, phase behavior, and protein stability of membrane- associated proteins complexed with associating polymers which replace the lipid matrix will be investigated by x-ray diffraction and other techniques. The polymer-membrane protein associations represent a fundamentally new approach aimed at producing a new class of biomolecular materials. The first membrane-associated proteins to be studied are based on (i) integral memebrane proteins (e.g., bacteriorhodopsin) and (ii) self-assembled two-dimensional surface protein layers of bacteria. The two classes of associating polymers which we propose to consider consist of (i) hydrophobically associating copolymers, and (ii) ionomers.
