Figure 1.

Structure of a RM containing ubiquitin. (a) Position of the protein (in CPK) inside a self-assembled RM. (b) Exterior surface view of the RM. Water molecules are shown as a red surface, AOT molecules are shown as a gray surface, Na ions are shown as orange spheres. The protein is shown in a CPK model. Ubiquitin binds to the AOT surfactants through the hydrophobic patch formed by residues Leu 8, Ile 44, and Val 70(green). This hydrophobic patch is surrounded by positively charged residues Lys 6, Lys 11, Arg 42, Lys 48, His 68, Arg 72, and Arg 74 (white). (c) Interior view of the ubiquitin∕AOT interface. The protein is shown in a ribbon model, except for sidechains that interact directly with AOT molecules. The N- (Met 1) and C- (Gly 76) termini amino acids are labeled. The figure was prepared using the VMD (Ref. ⁵¹).